


Pieces

by FinnHudsonGlee



Category: Formula 1 RPF, Glee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 59
Words: 126,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27464398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinnHudsonGlee/pseuds/FinnHudsonGlee
Summary: His parents got divorced, he was forced to return to the U.S from his boarding school abroad, he got into a fiery racing crash and got a career-ending injury that ended his chances of becoming an F1 driver, all before he even turned 18. He's gone off the rails: getting thrown out of schools, sleeping rough. Is Finn too far gone or can a hidden talent bring him back from the depths?
Relationships: Finn Hudson & Will Schuester, Finn Hudson/Original Female Character(s), Quinn Fabray/Finn Hudson, Quinn Fabray/Noah Puckerman
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

Finn, his two younger sisters and his mom drove into their new hometown of Lima, Ohio for the first time. It was the fourth time Finn had to relocate in the past year. That year, Finn's life was a literal hell. First off, his dad - his hero in every single way - had been discovered to have a side piece. Because of this, his mom had filed for divorce and they split up, never to speak to each other again. Their mom, Carole, had gotten full custody of 17 year old Finn, his 13 year old sister Sarah and his 8 year old sister Neve. Not being able to see his dad ever again tore Finn apart but that wasn't the only backlash due to their divorce.

Finn was supposed to be spending high school abroad in a prestigious boarding school in Dubai, UAE, but after the divorce, they were forced to pull him from abroad and bring him back to the States midway through his junior year, around about the time of Christmas break. It sucked having to leave all of his friends that he had made over the past year and a half, but that wasn't even the worst part.

The cherry on the icing on the cake was when Finn got injured. From childhood, Finn's passion had always been car racing. At age 8, Finn was already competing in National karting competitions in the 12-13 year olds' category, and on top of that, he was winning them! A reason why Finn went to Dubai was that they had their own race track and in Abu Dhabi, the neighbouring emirate and capital of the country, there was an official F1 track which F1 drivers competed on every year. Finn got into his first actual F3 race car at the age of 15, and it was love at first sight. The car felt like an extension to his boy and he was so comfortable in the car that he knew it better than his own body. He started competing in F3 competitions all over the region, winning quite a lot of them. He was dubbed the 'next Michael Schumacher' by many people and was tagged as one of the one of the most talented prospects in the auto racing industry. That is, of course, until everything went wrong…

In the final of an F3 competition in Bahrain, Finn was in first place and 5 laps from the finish when he started to feel something wrong with his car. He felt like the engine was dying, and that he was literally trying to haul the car every mile, rather than driving it. He was used to grip issues due to overused tires but he had never experienced anything like this before. The engine completely died a few moments later and unfortunately, Finn was nowhere near a hard shoulder or anything that he could pull up into to avoid other passing cars. The second place car didn't have enough time to swerve to avoid the stalled car and ended up crashing into him, ripping both cars to pieces like they were made of glass. Luckily, the other driver was uninjured but the same couldn't be said for Finn…

When he was crashed into, his car was sent flying into the barricades and the last thing Finn heard was a crack before he blacked out. He woke up in the hospital, and the crack that he heard wasn't the worst thing that happened to him. It was just a broken arm, which would heal. The problem and the reason why he blacked out was that when he hit the barricade, he obtained a permanent spinal injury that was millimeters away from causing permanent paralysis. Although he wasn't paralysed, he did have a severe back injury that flared severely from time to time and would cause him to occasionally not be able to get out of bed for days. He was pulled from the auto racing injury and all of the hype around him dissipated and eventually disappeared. Finn was moved back to the States three weeks after being discharged from the hospital. Finn would never be able to sit in a race car ever again due to his injury as even on days that he didn't feel too much pain, his back was VERY tender and he wouldn't be able to sit in a race car and take all of those sharp turns, exhilarating speeds and abrupt brakes that he loved so much.

This absolutely killed Finn. His one chance to make it big in the world had been ripped away from him, on top of everything else he was already going through, and he broke. He went off the rails. When Finn was pulled from Dubai, his family were living in San Francisco. They lived there for 3 months, but had to move when Finn's mom lost her job. After that was 4 months in Phoenix, AZ. They then moved to Boston but only stayed there for one month before Finn's mom yet again, lost her job. She was a realtor and due to crashes in the economy as well as sometimes missing work to take care of her kids, couldn't keep a job for too long. It's not like Finn was much help taking care of his younger siblings. He was constantly getting suspended from school or even in the case of their short stay in Boston, he got thrown out for picking fights with students. Well, he didn't pick fights, but if people challenged him or insulted him or his family, he beat the actual crap out of them. He put three guys in the hospital when he was expelled from his school in Boston. In addition, Finn often snuck into bars with a face I.D, drank way too much and then crashed on either a random friend's couch or even sometimes slept on a park bench. Needless to say, when he arrived in Lima, his expectations weren't high and he expected to just do the same as he did in every other place they lived in.

"Wow. This place is… quaint." Sarah said as they drove past the 'Welcome to Lima' sign. Finn snorted.

"Quaint? This place is a fucking dump!" Finn remarked. Neve laughed but Sarah rolled her eyes. Sarah was old enough to be disapproving about Finn's recent behavior, but Neve had nothing but love for her brother. Finn was her best friend and she was his. His sisters and his were the only reliable people in his life but although he often locked horns with his mom and Sarah, Neve was the one person that kept him waking up every morning and not running away and leaving his family forever.

"Finn! Language!" His mom exclaimed.

"Oh come on! We're all thinking it!" Finn muttered.

Look, I know this isn't ideal, but this is a guaranteed one year assignment with no movement. It's exactly what we need, even if this town is a little basic."

"I miss L.A." Neve grumbled. While Finn was in Dubai, Neve, Sarah, Carole and her then husband were living in L.A. Finn's dad, Phillip, was a partner in a law firm so was earning a crap-ton of money - hence Finn being able to go to a boarding school abroad. Although Carole got custody of the kids, Phillip had to pay practically no alimony to her. Due to his position as both a lawyer and the husband in question, he knew just what areas to prod and what strings to pull to weasel his way into paying minimal amounts of alimony. Another reason why Finn hated the man.

"I do too." Carole said. "But you know what, sweetie? If you work hard, maybe you'll be back there someday. But for now, we're here."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

5 hours later, at almost midnight, they were finished unpacking all of their stuff and Finn's two younger sisters had gone to sleep. Finn was sitting in the living room watching an F1 race on TV. Although he himself could no longer race, he was still a massive fanatic of the sport. Suddenly, the TV clicked off and Finn turned around to see his mother standing over him.

"Finn, we need to talk." She said.

"OK, what's up?" Finn grumbled.

"I don't know how else to say this, Finn, but you need to do better. You need to step up. You have two sisters that need and look up to you. Hell, Neve thinks you're a literal saint! I know what you've been through and trust me, seeing you in pain hurt me a lot too. I understand what you're going through."

"No, you have no idea what I've been through." Finn spat back. "The man was my hero. My idol. I looked up to him about everything."

"Yeah, and I loved the man! You don't think the divorce was tough on me too?" She spat. Finn ignored her and continued.

"He did the worst thing he could have possibly done. He did the exact opposite of everything he, and therefore I, stood for. You guys separated and you cut off ALL ties with him. I had to leave all of my friends and the city that I loved so much! And to top it all off, the one thing I could always rely on - car racing - was over for me because of a fucking back injury that, quite frankly, wasn't even my fault!"

"So what are you going to do?" Carole asked. "Are you going to run from the people who care about you like your father did? Or are you going to be there for them? You can't be there for people if you're getting drunk off your ass every night and crashing on park benches. Or if you're getting into fights and getting thrown out of schools."

"I'm almost 18. I can be my own fucking person. You can't force me to be someone I'm not."

"Maybe not, but I can give you an ultimatum. If you get kicked out of one more school, you're out of the house. Forever. Don't bother coming back. I can't have Neve becoming like…"

Carole's voice trailed off and Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Look, if you're going to say what you just said, at least have the balls to finish the sentence. You don't want Neve becoming like me!"

"Well, I'm sorry, Finn, but yes. She's still young and very impressionable, especially when it comes to you. So you've got to clean up your act, if not for me or you, then for Neve. I mean it, Finn! One more expulsion and you're out of the house, and don't expect to ever come back!"

Finn's face went from anger to confusion to defeat. He stood up. He need to get out of the room as soon as possible as he knew that he was seconds away from verbally lashing out.

"Good night, mother." He brought himself to say before walking out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

"Seriously, Finn!" Carole shouted, bursting into the Principal's office. "Are you kidding me? First day of senior year? What the hell did you do?"

"Good afternoon, Ms. Hudson." Principal Figgins of his new school - McKinley High School - said. "Mr. Hudson here was caught in a fight with one of our other students."

Carole turned to Finn, who was sitting opposite Principal Figgins in his office.

"Finn? Care to say anything?" Carole said in a sharp, clipped tone. Finn raised his hands in surrender.

"Mom, I know how this looks, and I know that given my history, it's doubtful that you're going to believe me but I swear, I can explain this one."

"You have 2 minutes…" Carole replied.

**Earlier that day**

_Finn woke up at 6 in the morning that day and for the first time in almost a year, he jumped out of bed happily, determined to change his ways. He was starting senior year and he had a new start. He would try and make some friends and be happy for a change, rather than clinging to the past and resenting those who made getting his past back impossible._

_He put on a clean change of clothing for a change - a Red Bull Racing (his old F3 team) hoodie and a pair of navy jeans - before walking downstairs. Nobody was downstairs yet even though Sarah had her first day of grade 8 and Neve had her first day of grade 3. Finn decided to get started on breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns. One of the benefits to spending the first two years of high school alone was that he learnt how to cook pretty quickly as he was living in the high school dorms._

_Half an hour later, he saw Neve and Sarah stumble down the stairs at around 6:30. Finn smiled and handed both of them a hot plate of food. They sat down on the bar stools._

" _Wow, Finn, you look so…" Sarah started._

" _Amazing? Radiant? Sexy as hell?" Finn suggested, joking around. Sarah giggled._

" _I was going to say not a disaster." Sarah replied. Finn shrugged and at that moment, Carole walked downstairs and her eyes widened when she saw Finn._

" _Wow, Finn you look…"_

_"Not a disaster? Yeah, we already covered this!" Neve exclaimed. Carole laughed and walked into the kitchen next to Finn to make a cup of coffee. When they was out of earshot, she turned to her only son._

" _So, what changed?" She asked. Finn shrugged._

" _I thought about it and you were right. There are still some people who still depend on me, and I'd like to be a good role model to them." He replied, glancing over at the two girls who were sitting and eating at the kitchen table. Carole smiled._

" _That's great, sweetie. So, are you excited for your senior year?"_

_Finn sighed._

_"Honestly, not really. This is my first year since I was Neve's age that I'm not involved in either F3 or Karting season. It's going to be kind of sad to have to watch from the sidelines."_

" _Well, have you ever considered doing something else?"_

_"I mean not yet, but I probably should. It's not like I can join a sports team though - especially not a sport like Football or Hockey."_

_"Yeah, that's not a great idea. I'm sure you'll find your passion. It's senior year. Time to find who you truly are when you step out from behind that wheel."_

_HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

_Finn walked into McKinley High for the first time at around 9 am. He was pretty nervous. For the first time since Dubai, he genuinely wanted to try and do well in this place. McKinley High was very understated. It was a couple of lifetimes away from the gorgeous, luxurious school he went to in Dubai. All McKinley contained were classrooms, and the auditorium and outdoor football field. It's not like Finn was about to take advantage of either one of those facilities. Finn went straight to the Principal's office when he arrived on campus and was in the office until around lunch time._

_"Alright. Now that we've finished your paperwork, I'll take you on a tour." He said. Finn nodded and they both left the office together. Finn was shown the athletics field, ice hockey rink, basketball court, gym, auditorium, choir room and basic classrooms. At the end of the tour, Principal Figgins took Finn to a spanish classroom, where a brunette, male teacher was standing at the front. The students of the class all looked wildly uninterested._

_"Class… This is Finn Hudson. He's new so please make him feel welcome. Finn, here's the rest of your schedule." Mr. Figgins said and smiled. Finn shook his hand and shook the Spanish teacher's hand._

_"Finn, nice to meet you. I'm Will Schuester, I'm the Spanish teacher and Glee coach. Please, take a seat next to Puck." He said. Puck raised his hand and Finn walked over and sat down._

_"Sup." Puck nodded his head._

_"Hey." Finn said and turned his attention to the class._

_"He's hot." Kurt whispered to Mercedes, raising an eyebrow. Kurt was the only openly gay kid in McKinley, and got a lot of bullying because of it._

_"You know, I actually agree with you there," She said. Kurt eyed him and smiled._

_Finn was doodling randomly on a sheet of paper. Because he used to live in a diverse city as L.A, he had been speaking Spanish his entire life so he was already fluent. He was also half-fluent at Arabic from his two years in Dubai. Languages were one of Finn's strengths - it took him just about 2 years to learn a whole language. Ten minutes into the lesson, Puck took out his phone and started texting. Mr. Schuester noticed Puck's actions, and walked over to the two of them._

_"Puckerman, give me the phone… and you get detention after class." Mr. Shue said, firmly._

_"Is there any way I could make it up another time? We have football tryouts today!" Puck begged. Finn immediately thought of a way he could help out the frustrated guy beside him._

_"Uhm, Mr. Shuester it's my phone, actually. Puck offered to put in his number in case I need help with anything, cause I'm new to the country and all." Finn lied. Mr. Shue nodded, and everyone looked at Finn. Finn ignored them._

_"Alright I'll let it slide. Put it away." Mr. Schuester said. When Mr. Schuester had turned back around to face the front of the room, Puck turned his head and smiled at the guy next to him._

_"Thanks bro." He pounded his fist._

_"Anytime." Finn replied._

_"So, where did you come from?" Puck asked._

" _Um… Boston. I lived there for a month."  
_

" _Nice. You play football or basketball?"  
_

_Finn shook his head._

" _No, I injured my spine last year. I can't play any contact sports anymore."_

" _Wow, that's harsh. What happened?" Puck asked._

" _Car racing accident." Finn replied. Puck grinned._

" _Oh, I feel you. Drunk drag race with friends?" He asked. Finn chuckled._

" _No, it was a National Formula 3 auto racing championship. I was a legit racing driver. I was on track to make it to F1. Until my crash obviously."_

" _Wow, I'm so sorry, dude. That sucks." Puck said. Finn nodded._

" _Yeah, thanks man."  
_

_HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

_Happy with how his first class had gone, Finn left the classroom, smiling. But his smile quickly ended as he felt himself shoved against a locker and a freezing blue slushie was dumped over his head._

" _Welcome to McKinley, biatch!" A slightly overweight guy in a Letterman jacket - presumably a football player - exclaimed. Finn insides boiled with humiliation and anger. That dumbass was not going to get away with that. If there was one thing Finn could do other than car racing, it was fist fighting. The jock didn't put up much of a fight anyways. Finn started by grabbing his jacket collar and putting his head through a locker, before judo flipping him and starting to choke him out. The crowds had all gathered at this point, immobile in shock at the sight. The new kid was choking out one of the most popular jocks in the school. Luckily, before Finn could do any serious damage, two female teachers - from their outfits, Finn presumed the Cheerleading coach and the football coach - ran over and pulled Finn and the man he was fighting apart._

_"What the hell is going on?!" The football coach shouted._

" _That dumbass shoved me and poured one of those blue drinks in my face! I was getting even." Finn spat._

" _Look…" the Cheerleading coach said in a tone that made Finn already know that he was going to dislike her. "I don't know how things were in that backward ass Arab country you used to live in, but here in America, when we have problems, we don't kill each other to sort out our issues."_

_Wow, that's offensive! Finn thought._

" _OK, first of all, I'm an American. I've lived in the States for all but two years of my life, which I spent in Dubai. And let me tell you, Dubai is so much better than the States for many reasons but the most important: there are no people like you who have so little success in life that they have to lash out and abuse their power with their students."_

_Finn said this all very calmly but the coach - a coach Sue Sylvester - became enraged._

" _THAT'S IT! PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE! NOW!" She shouted._

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"And that's how I got here." Finn finished, looking at Carole and Figgins indignantly. "See! I'm innocent! I was protecting myself! According to Ohio Law, in order for charges to put put down as self defense, first of all, the accused must have been unlawfully assaulted by the victim. I was: he shoved me against a locker. Secondly, the accused must not have provoked the unlawful assault by the victim. I didn't. I was just walking down the , the force used by the accused was not intended to cause death or grievous bodily harm to the victim and the force used by the accused was no more than necessary to enable the accused to defend him or herself. That's valid here. All I hit was daze him by hitting him into a locker and then I merely just choked him so I would incapacitate him without permanently hurting him. If Ohio Law states that I'm innocent, there's no way in hell I'm accepting an expulsion for this! I'll take you to court if I have to!"

Carole looked at her son's determined expression and when she remembered their tough conversation last night, she realised why this was so important to him. He wasn't just arguing to stay a member of the school; he was also arguing to stay a member of his family. Figgins raised a hand to cut him off.

"Woah, woah, woah! No need to get political! We're not going to expel you. In fact, you probably did the school a bit of a favor. That kid you beat up, Mr. David Karofsky, is the main school bully. By proving that he isn't the toughest dog on campus maybe will make him ease off a little with the bullying."

Finn honestly couldn't care less about that. He cared more about his future in the school.

"So, I'm not expelled? I'm free to go?"

"Well, kind of. You are not expelled or suspended in any way. But to prove to Mr. Karofsky's parents that there is some discipline being inflicted. As a punishment, you are going to have to join one of the McKinley co-curricular activities."

Normally that wouldn't be a punishment, but a good thing. However, with Finn's injury, joining a sport would be monumentally difficult.

"Um… Principal Figgins, I'm really sorry but I suffered a permanent spine injury in a car crash on the racing circuit last year. I can't take part in any sports."

Figgins smirked.

"Well, lucky for you, sports are not the only co-curriculars McKinley boasts…"


	3. Chapter 3

It was senior year and the McKinley High Glee Club - the New Directions - were sitting in the choir room, waiting for Mr. Shuester to arrive. They were not a great show choir - they had never gotten further than the second round (Regionals) in the National Show Choir Championships. However, this year they were all determined to make it to Nationals, and win at that. There was just one problem… the male section of their vocals was already pretty bad and they had just been hit with another blow.

"How does Matt just leave?" Sam asked, angrily.

"He moved to Georgia so now we're short by one person and it's gotta be a guy. We're already outnumbered by girls." Puck said.

"Puck's right! And we're still the losers of the school so no one will join… unless you Cheerios do something!" Kurt said, looking at Santana, Quinn and Brittany, the three cheerleaders in the group.

"Kurt, no one wants to join, okay? But Puck's right: we do need a guy." Quinn, the head cheerleader and most popular girl in the school, replied.

"I agree. I need a male vocalist who can keep up with all these solos I'm getting. I mean Puck can't handle these songs." Rachel said in her typical selfish, overconfident tone.

"Don't blame me! Your music taste sucks! Broadway sucks, okay? I'm a badass. It kills me to sing that dumbass Wicked crap." Puck spat.

"It's not crap. You just suck at singing it." Mercedes shot back.

"Enough." Quinn rolled her eyes.

"We need to find a dude!" Puck yelled. Suddenly, Mr. Schuester entered the room and smiled at them.

"Hey guys. How are you all? How were your summers?"

Everyone grumbled in reply and Mr. Schue picked up on their negativity. He raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"Why are all of you so bummed? It's literally the first day of the school year?!" He exclaimed.

"Matt's transferred so we're short one guy for the competition." Tina explained. They needed a minimum of 12 people to compete in the first round of the Show Choir Championships (Sectionals) and due to Matt transferring to Georgia at the end of junior year, they were one man short.

"We just have to keep our eyes open for anyone with musical talent. I'm sure one kid in the whole kid would want to join New Directions." Mr. Schue said. On paper, that sounded more than reasonable but that was far from the case in real life. In McKinley, NOBODY wanted to join the Glee club, in fear of being bullied by the popular jocks of the school, which was ironic because 5 of the most popular kids in school were in the Glee club. It was better to stay under the radar in McKinley than join the Glee club and automatically plummet to the bottom of the social hierarchy and be the target of all of the bullies in the school.

"Mr. Schue, I think you're forgetting something. It's the Glee club. Who in their right mind is going to join the Glee club?"

At that moment, Principal Figgins walked into the room with Finn trailing a few feet behind him. By now, everyone had heard that Karofsky had been beaten up by a new student but none of them had been there so none of them recognised Finn as anything but the new kid they saw in their spanish class.

"Listen up, New Directions." Figgins said in his traditional monotonous tone. "Due to his scuffle with Mr. Karofsky earlier, Mr. Hudson will…"

"Wait… that was you? You were the one who beat up Karofsky?" Puck asked, bewildered. Finn shrugged and nodded. Everyone broke out into huge smiles.

"Damn, respect bro!" Mike exclaimed.

"Yeah, that jerk had it coming!" Tina exclaimed.

"Anyways… as I was saying…" Figgins continued, his voice revealing no emotion whatsoever. "Due to his behavior, Mr. Hudson will have to join the New Directions for the remainder of senior year."

Everyone cheered.

"Well, good to have you with us, Finn." Mr. Schue said, shaking Finn's hand as Figgins left the room. "So why did you decide to join the New Directions over something more popular like football or basketball? Do you have prior musical experience?"

Finn laughed and shook his head.

"Um… to be perfectly honest, and this is nothing against you guys, but I was forced to join New Directions. I have a permanent spine injury and I was being forced to take on a co-curricular. It was either this or the AV club and I just flipped a coin. As for musical experience, the only singing I've ever done is karaoke with my younger sister."

"Um… okay." Mr. Schue said, trying to stay positive as possible even though they all knew that Finn was most likely useless in their battle to win Nationals.

"Don't worry about me! I don't want to solo or anything! I'm happy to just stand at the back and pretend to sing. The only reason I'm here is so I don't get expelled."

"Well that's just great!" Rachel exclaimed, sarcastically. "We're so short on male voices and the one dunce who actually is forced to join can't sing to save his life!"

"Gee… who crapped in your cheerios this morning?" Finn remarked. "And besides, I didn't ASK to be here! I'm being forced to be here because the alternative is my mom kicking me out and forcing me to live on the streets if I get expelled."

"I hear that." Santana chimed in. "If I got expelled, my mami would definitely give me the boot!" She exclaimed.

"Okay, guys! Finn might not be a Nationals level singer but he's still someone. Finn, could you sing something for us so we can gauge your ability?" Mr. Schue said.

"In front of all of you? Um… okay?" Finn replied, unsure.

"No pressure. Just sing your heart out. Sing whatever you want." Mr. Schue smiled at him reassuringly. Finn nodded and prepared to sing.

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=W1UNDLRsF8M &ab_channel=JamesArthur-Topic**

**Or search… 'Train Wreck James Arthur'**

**You guys should definitely listen to it. It's literally my favourite song right now! I'm obsessed.**

_Laying in the silence_

_Waiting for the sirens_

_Signs, any signs I'm alive still_

_I don't wanna lose it_

_But I'm not getting through this_

_Hey, should I pray, should I fray_

_To myself, to a god_

_To a saviour who can..._

_Unbreak the broken_

_Unsay these spoken words_

_Find hope in the hopeless_

_Pull me out the train wreck_

_Unburn the ashes_

_Unchain the reactions_

_I'm not ready to die, not yet_

_Pull me out the train wreck_

_Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out_

_Pull me out, pull me out_

_Underneath our bad blood_

_We still got a sad song_

_Home, still at home, still at home, yeah_

_It's not too late to build it back_

_'Cause a one in a million chance_

_Is still a chance, still a chance_

_And I would take those odds_

_Unbreak the broken_

_Unsay these spoken words_

_Find hope in the hopeless_

_Pull me out the train wreck_

_Unburn the ashes_

_Unchain the reactions_

_I'm not ready to die, not yet_

_Pull me out the train wreck_

_Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out_

_Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out_

_You can say what you like don't say I wouldn't die for it_

_I'm down on my knees and I need you to be my god_

_Be my help, be a saviour who can_

_Unbreak the broken_

_Unsay these reckless words_

_Find hope in the hopeless_

_Pull me out the train wreck_

_Unburn the ashes_

_Unchain the reactions_

_I'm not ready to die, not yet_

_Pull me out the train wreck_

_Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out_

_Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out_

At the end of the song, nobody spoke. Finn took a deep breath. The song meant so much to him. After a good minute of silence, Finn decided to break it.

"Look, you guys, I know I can't sing, and I already told you I don't mind just inaudibly mouth percussing in the back."

"Finn… that was incredible! What the hell? I thought you couldn't sing!" Mike exclaimed. Finn raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"It was? And I was telling the truth. I've only ever sang with my sister before. This is the first time I've ever sung to anyone outside my family. Singing isn't really my… forte."

"Well, it should be! I think we've found ourselves a new lead vocalist!" Mr. Schue exclaimed and everyone cheered. Well, everyone but Rachel.

"You meant the new MALE lead vocalists, right Mr. Schue? I'm still the lead vocalist, right?" She demanded.

"Rachel, shut up and just take the win." Santana remarked. "You were bitching about getting a new guy singer in the New Directions not even an hour ago. We've got one now and you're just getting annoyed because despite all of the vocal lessons and self-adoration lessons your fathers bought you, the guy will literally no experience has a better voice than you."

"He is not! You take that back!" Rachel exclaimed.

"No offense, Rachel but he kinda is." Mr. Schue said. "Sure you might have more experience but that voice, Finn… Oh my god! There was something to it. It was so… raw." Mr. Schue said. Rachel sat back down, crossing her arms and legs so tightly that she looked like she was about to knot herself into a bow. Finn raised his hands up in surrender.

"Look, I'm not trying to cause any problems. I'm just here because I have to join a co-curricular, and my spine is permanently damaged so I can't play any sports."

"Oh, what happened to your spine? As you can see, I also have a permanent spinal injury." Artie said. "But you seem to be moving a lot easier than I am."

Finn nodded.

"Yeah, so I'm not paralysed. It was a miracle I wasn't actually. I was in a Formula 3 race and my stupid car's engine died in the middle of the track. The driver behind me barrelled into me at 170 miles an hour and we both went flying into the barricades, stuck under a mountain of the remains of our cars and the remains of the barricade. I can move around okay, so that's great, but I can't get into a race car ever again so that sucks."

"You were a race car driver?" Mercedes asked. "That's a thing for people not in Formula 1."

"Well, you don't start at the top in any sport. It's like football. You don't start in the NFL. You start at the very bottom, which for auto racing is competitive karting tournaments, and you then build up to Formula 3, then 2, then 1."

"That's so cool!" Quinn exclaimed. Finn smiled at the old memories of him on the race track.

"Yeah, it was." He replied, sighing. "Anyways, I've gotta go. I've gotta cook dinner for my sisters because my mom's late at work. So what time is Glee rehearsal? And what days?" Finn asked.

"Monday, Wednesday Friday from 3:30 to 5." Mr. Schue replied. "Bye, Finn. You're an amazing singer!"

"Thank you!" Finn called as he was already all the way out the door. After he was gone, everyone started murmuring and gossiping about him quietly to each other.

"Wow, what a dick!" Rachel exclaimed. Everyone rolled their eyes at her. They knew that she was just jealous.

"What are you talking about? He's such a nice guy. And he beat up, Karofsky!" Quinn exclaimed. Mercedes raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, look who's suddenly president of his fan club!" Mercedes remarked. "You got a little crush on the new boy, Fabray?"

"Maybe." Quinn replied coyly before walking out of the room, ignoring the death glare she was getting from Puck…

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Finn arrived home that afternoon and threw his coat on the rack. Neve and Sarah were both already home and were playing a game of Go Fish in the living room when he entered the house. He walked over to them and collapsed on the armchair next to Neve.

"Wow, well that sucked!" Finn spat. Both of his sisters laughed.

"So… how was your first day of school?" Sarah asked, giggling. Finn groaned.

"Terrible. Some guy tried to bully me and shove me around so I kinda…"

"Beat him up? Yeah, mom told us." Sarah laughed. "I was more talking about how you joined a singing club! Our Finn in a show choir! Maybe you're going to be the next Lady Gaga!"

"Shut up." Finn snapped, chuckling a little. "Trust me, it's not by choice. It's just a bunch of over-privileged, annoying teenagers who, after all of the vocal experience they have - I can still sing better than."

"Yeesh, they must be really bad then!" Sarah remarked.

"Yeah, no shit." Finn replied. "Ugh… I'm going to go take a shower and then call it a night. Today was kinda rough."

"See you, man." Sarah said. Finn walked upstairs and into the bathroom that he shared with Neve.

15 minutes later, he walked out of the bathroom and into his room.

"Hello, Finn." He heard someone say from his bed behind him. He spun around and relaxed when he saw it was just Neve.

"Hey, Nevey. What's up?" He asked, smiling at her. Neve was the only person in the whole world that could make him smile.

"You enjoy being in the Glee club!" She exclaimed. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" He asked, confused.

"You're enjoying it! For the first time in the 8 years I've been alive, I've never heard you sing in the shower and yet today, less than an hour after you come back from Glee club rehearsal, I could hear you singing through the wall."

Finn shrugged.

"You're reading into it." Finn grumbled.

"Am I? Look, I'm only 8, but I know you better than you know anyone. I'm not going to keep prying but if you genuinely enjoy singing, maybe this could be the way you make it out of Lima and make your mark on the world, rather than F1? You were looking for a new passion and maybe you've found one."

"I don't know, Neve. I honestly don't know." Finn replied. Neve stood up and hugged Finn.

"I always knew that you were a good singer? Remember all those Christmases we went carolling together?"

"Honestly, I remember going but I don't remember much about the actual singing.. I was kind of dr… tired during those days."

"Dude, I know you were drunk." Neve laughed. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"You did? How?" Finn asked, confused.

"Your breath always smelled like booze and you wouldn't be able to walk in a straight line!" Neve laughed. "But even drunk, you were still an amazing singer. You should pull this thread. See where it leads. Good night, Finn." She said, walking out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

The next few weeks were pretty average for Finn - nothing special really happened. He would have school during the day and Glee in the afternoon. Normally, in McKinley High, a new student who joined the Glee club would be the target of every single bully in the school. He was supposed to be slushied, thrown in lockers and punched out by the jocks but after what he did to Karofsky on his first day in the school, combined with the fact that he was a towering 6'4 with an absolutely shredded build, all of the bully seemed to stay away from him. They had no doubt that Finn could beat any of them up if he had to.

In addition, against the odds, he was actually enjoying himself in Glee. After 6 months of just being lost, he had finally found a passion off the racing circuit: singing. He was the new male lead of the New Directions and with Mr. Schue's coaching, he had turned into a pretty decent singer.

Finn had also mastered playing the acoustic guitar in an unbelievably short time. He wasn't playing any sports so he had a lot of free time on his hands. It took him less than two weeks to learn all of the basic techniques so he was able to play pretty much every chord.

One of Finn's main strengths in music though was that he had an impeccable ear. Mr. Schue knew that if Finn wanted to, with hard work, he could possibly go all the way to becoming a recording star. But Finn didn't seem interested in that, so that was a shame.

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"Hey guys. How's it going?" Mr. Schue asked as he walked into the choir room for Glee rehearsal. They all smiled.

"Good." They replied. Mr. Schue grinned at them.

"So… I was thinking that we start preparation for Sectionals today." Mr. Schue said, and immediately, the group reacted. Everyone cheered and clapped, and Rachel jumped to her feet.

"Mr. Schue… I had some ideas for my solo. I can obviously sing Don't Rain on my Parade. Or, if you want, I can sing Defying Gravity. Or pretty much anything Broadway."

"Woah, woah, woah, why are you soloing?" Mercedes asked. Rachel glared at her.

"Maybe because I'm the best singer."

"No, I'm the best singer." Mercedes replied. "You're not even the best Broadway diva in the group, Rachel."

"Exactly. I am." Kurt piped in. "Which is why I should solo, Mr. Schue."

"I think you guys are forgetting someone… me!" Santana exclaimed.

"Oh my god, all of you SHUT UP!" Puck yelled. "Look, I already have a hangover and your bitching is not helping me at all. Mr. Schue's the teacher. He can decide."

Mr. Schue looked like a deer in headlights.

"Um… I… um… okay. To keep you all from fighting, I'm going to give the solo to none of you. The person soloing at Sectionals will be… Finn!"

Everyone turned towards Finn, who had no idea what was going on. He was wearing noise cancelling headphones and was watching an F1 qualifying race on his phone. Suddenly, his headphones were pulled off his head and Finn looked up, protestingly.

"Hey!" Finn exclaimed as Mr. Schue took his headphones and put them on top of the piano. "What the hell, Mr. Schue?"

"Finn, you're soloing at Sectionals." Mr. Schue stated. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Um… no thanks." Finn replied and went back to watching his video, this time mute because his headphones had been taken. Mr. Schue cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry. I don't think you quite heard me. You get to perform as our lead in Sectionals!" Mr. Schue exclaimed, putting some delight in his voice.

"Yes, I heard you. But no thank you."

"Well, if Finn doesn't want the solo I'll take it!" Rachel exclaimed. Everyone started to protest again.

"No! Rachel! No!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. "I want Finn to do it. Finn, why don't you want to solo? Everyone else in this room would LOVE to get that opportunity!"

Finn shrugged.

"Well, it's like you said. Everyone in this room would love to get the chance to solo. Me, I'm really not too fussed either way. Like don't get me wrong, yeah Glee club's fun I guess, but I feel like you should give the solos to the people who actually want them and work a lot harder than I do."

Nobody spoke.

"Um… that's very gallant of you, Finn. Okay, Mercedes, the solo is yours."

Mercedes grinned. Mr. Schue dismissed them shortly after and as Finn walked down the corridor, he heard someone calling him back.

"Finn! Finn! Wait up!" The person called. Finn turned around to see Quinn running over to him.

"Hey, Quinn, what's up?" Finn asked. She took a moment to catch her breath before speaking.

"Hey. Um… I don't think we have really talked much since you joined McKinley. How's everything going? How were your first two weeks here?"

"Not too bad, I guess. Glee club's kind of intense. When I joined, it was with the vision of being able to chill and do nothing 90% of the time."

Quinn laughed.

"Yeah, it's pretty intense sometimes, especially with Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes." She replied. Finn replied.

"What's the deal with them? Do they actually want to become singers or something?" Finn asked. Quinn nodded.

"Actually, they do. Rachel and Kurt want to go on Broadway and Mercedes wants to become a recording artist."

"Right. I have a sneaky feeling Rachel won't make it on Broadway." Finn commented. Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you say that?" She asked. Finn shrugged.

"I've been in the same room as her for a maximum of two hours at a time and even then, I want to punch her in the face. Imagine spending 10 hours a day in a confined space with her. 7 days a week. 52 weeks a year. That's what her future director would have to go through if he hired her. She's going to get fired!"

Quinn giggled.

"You might have a point there. So, I was wondering, if you aren't doing anything tonight, would you like to take me to Breadstix?"

Finn smirked at her.

"You hit on all of the new kids, Fabray?" Finn remarked. Quinn laughed.

"Only if they're as kind, funny and… hot as you are." She purred, stroking a hand on his arm. Finn for a moment.

"You know? Why not? I'll pick you up at 7?" Finn suggested. Quinn beamed.

"Sure. I can't wait."

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At 6:30 pm, Finn got ready to leave for Quinn's place, where he would be picking her up from before driving together to Breadstix. As Finn walked downstairs, he adjusted his collar. He then walked through the living room on his way to the door. Their mom was at work and Neve and Sarah were watching a movie in the den.

"Hey guys! I'm heading out now!" Finn called. The two girls wolf whistled.

"Ooh! Looking good, Finn!" Neve commented, gleefully, wolf whistling and catcalling. Finn rolled his eyes.

"You know, it's times like these when I miss living alone." Finn remarked, sighing. His sisters laughed.

"Are you going on your date? Should we be expecting you back tomorrow morning?" Sarah asked. Finn laughed.

"Probably not. But in case something actually happens, tell mom I might be crashing with a few buddies after we play a Call of Duty marathon."

"I don't know what any of those words mean but I will tell her if she asks." Sarah assured him. Finn smiled nervously.

"Thanks, guys. I'll see you later."

"Have fun!" Neve and Sarah called as Finn walked out the door. He drove to Quinn's place and arrived at 6:40pm. Because they all went to McKinley High (a public school), their houses were all pretty close together. Finn knocked on the door of Quinn's house and shifted from foot to foot anxiously as he waited for her to come outside. Never in a million years did he expect to be on a date with someone like Quinn. She was the head cheerleader and the most popular girl in the school. A couple of minutes later, Quinn opened the door and stepped out to meet him. She was just as nervous as he was. She could have pretty much every guy in the school, but Finn was different. She felt genuine feelings for him. From the second she first saw him, she felt sparks.

"Hey." Finn said.

"Hey." Quinn smiled back.

"So, are you ready to get going?" Finn asked. "You look beautiful by the way."

"Thanks." She replied as they walked over to Finn's car. Finn opened the passenger door for Quinn before taking his own seat in the driver's seat. What a gentleman, Quinn thought. She was used to dating pigs like Puck and Sam. Maybe Finn could be different!

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The next morning, Finn woke up to unfamiliar surroundings.

"This isn't my room." He thought to himself as he looked around the room. It was a girl's room! That's when he remembered everything that had happened the night before. Him and Quinn had gone on a great dinner date in Breadstix, followed by an ice cream picnic in the park before going to Quinn's house together and… sealing the deal. Suddenly, a quiet snore alerted him. He looked down and saw Quinn peacefully sleeping beside him, wearing his shirt and nothing more. He gently nudged her awake.

"Quinn… babe… wake up." Finn whispered, gently kissing her temples. Her gorgeous, hazel eyes slowly fluttered open and when she saw him, she smiled.

"Good morning." She whispered, rolling on top of him and kissing him. Finn kissed her back.

"You look so beautiful, you know?" Finn murmured into her ear. She beamed at him.

"So you've said multiple times. I'm starting to think you're just dating me for my looks." She remarked. Finn laughed.

"Well, if I haven't said it enough, I think you're an amazing person, and your looks don't even begin to describe how amazing you are."

Suddenly, she heard the front door to her house open and she jumped up.

"Crap! That's my mom and dad! They were meant to be out of town this weekend!" She cried. She threw Finn his shirt and pants and he quickly put them on. "If they find out what I did, they'll cast me out on the streets! They're really devout Christians so they want me to be celibate!"

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"You're 18. Won't they understand? And besides, it's not like it was your first time last night."

Quinn nodded and started pacing up and down the room.

"OK, um… how do we get you out of the room unseen?" She asked herself. When she turned around, her jaw dropped. Finn was gone, and the sudden breeze that came out of the window led her to believe he made it out that way. She ran to the window, only to watch as Finn's car took off down the driveway. She let out a huge sigh of relief. There was no evidence of last night so she was off the hook this time with her parents. Suddenly, she heard her phone chime so she walked over to it.

**Hey babe,**

**I had a great time last night (and this morning too!). Hope we can do it again sometime. See you in Glee on Monday.**

**F xxx**

Quinn smiled but also felt a pang of remorse and sympathy. She was about to put the man through hell for her own personal benefit. She sighed as she looked down at her stomach.

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Finn walked into his house that Saturday morning before anyone had even woken up. He took off his shoes and tiptoed through the entrance of the house. He crossed through the living room on the way to the stairs, but he was stopped halfway.

"Well… well… well. Look who's home about 12 hours late!" Sarah exclaimed. Finn turned around and smiled.

"Hey Sarah! What are you doing up? It's Saturday!"

"Misbuttoned shirt, unzipped fly, untied laces. Somebody made a quick exit this morning. Let me guess… her parents came home?"

Finn laughed.

"My god! You're a genius!" Finn exclaimed, laughing as he walked upstairs to take a shower.

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A couple of hours later, in the afternoon, the house was still pretty quiet. Carole had a showing for a house so she was out for a while, and Sarah was at a birthday party. Finn was helping Neve with some Math homework. One of the benefits of having a reasonably intelligent big brother was that he could always help her with homework when their mom was too busy. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Finn and Neve looked at each other. Who could that be? They weren't expecting anyone.

"I'll be right back." Finn said as he stood up to answer the door. He opened it to reveal Quinn.

"Quinn!" He exclaimed. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Finn… I'm pregnant."


	5. Chapter 5

On Monday, when Finn walked into school, he felt so helpless. He had no idea what he was going to do about Quinn. He still hadn't yet quite wrapped his head around the whole thing yet. His girlfriend was pregnant with his baby! He was going to be a father! How was he supposed to take care of a baby?!

Finn didn't say a word during Glee rehearsal that morning, during which all Rachel did was complain and bitch that they weren't singing well enough as her backup singers. Finn merely just watched Quinn from across the room. Weirdly, she kept giving surruptiteous glares at Puck when Puck's back was turned.

At the end of the rehearsal, Finn quietly snuck out of the choir room, not having said a word to anyone since he arrived.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Puck asked as he ran to catch up with Finn.

"Nothing. I just got a lot on my mind." He murmured.

"Seriously, dude, what's going on?" Puck asked "I'm your best friend. I can help you. Talk."

"It's personal." Finn replied, shortly.

"I knew it! You're in love with Kurt! You were staring at him all through Glee!"

Kurt was standing next to Quinn during Glee so Puck assumed that Finn was looking at Kurt and not the girl standing next to him.

"Quinn's pregnant. She's keeping the baby." Finn spat, before walking away. Puck's jaw dropped. Everything suddenly clicked into place. Why Quinn had slept with him the week before school started and mysteriously never called him. Why she always came into school in the morning looking slightly pale, like she had been throwing up. It wasn't Finn's baby! It was his! Puck stormed down the corridor and over to Quinn's locker, where she was putting some books away.

"'Sup, MILF?" He spat.

"Leave me alone." She snapped.

"Who's the daddy? I just think it's kind of weird if it's anyone but me because you were a virgin when we did it, and you were showing pregnancy symptoms weeks before Finn showed up."

"It's NOT your baby." She stated, firmly.

"Well, call the Vatican!" Puck shouted down the empty corridor. "We've got ourselves another immaculate conception!"

Quinn grabbed him and pulled him into an empty classroom.

"I'd take care of it, you know." Puck said, quietly. "You too. My dad's a deadbeat, but I don't roll that way."

"Weren't you fired from McDonald's last year for peeing in the fast-food fryolator?"

"I've got my pool cleaning business."

"We live in Ohio." Quinn laughed.

"Well, whatever I have is a hell of a lot more than whatever Finn's got! What does he have that I don't?"

"Love." Quinn replied, firmly. "And he's grown up in a house of women so unlike you, he's respectful, kind, generous and I know that he'll love the crap out of this baby."

"Have you told him?" Puck asked quietly. "You know, before you ruin his life."

"Why does he need to know. I don't care if the baby has a frickin' mohawk, I'll go down to the grave claiming it's his.

Quinn then ran down the corridor with tears in her eyes. She sobbed in the bathroom stall. She truly was ruining Finn's life with this. With a baby, the slim chance he had over ever getting out of Lima was gone. He would be stuck pumping gas at the side of the highway for the rest of his life, living paycheck to paycheck to support Quinn and his kid.

"Um… Quinn?" A voice said from outside the cubicle.

"Kurt?" Quinn replied, unlocking the door and stepping out of the cubicle. "What are you doing in the girls' bathroom."

Quinn then took a look at her surroundings and realised something.

"I'm in the boys bathroom, aren't I?" Quinn asked, wiping her eyes. Kurt nodded.

"Yeah, but that's unimportant. Are you okay?" He asked, concerned. Quinn shook her head as her hands trembled.

"Kurt, I'm pregnant."

Kurt's jaw dropped.

"Oh my god! Who's the father?" Kurt asked.

"Finn." Quinn demanded, unconvincingly. Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"That's funny, and highly unlikely that you know at this point, given that you two only went out for the first time two days ago. And, I happen to know that you had sex with Puck a couple of days before term started. So who's the actual father, Quinn?"

Quinn sighed.

"Biologically… Puck. In everything else… Finn."

"Does he know?" Kurt asked.

"That I'm pregnant? Duh! He's the first person I told!"

"No. That he's not the biological father?"

Quinn took a deep breath.

"No, he doesn't. And you CAN'T tell him! Do you understand me?"

Kurt nodded.

"Look, I won't tell him but you definitely should. He deserves to know." Kurt argued. Quinn shook her head.

"Kurt, he's going to leave me and I don't know what I'm going to do! Finn's the last chance for the baby to have a proper dad! I can't have Puck raise my kid!"

Kurt's eyes suddenly widened.

"Wait… is that the reason why you went out with him in the first place?" Kurt asked, astonished.

"It might have been one of the reasons." Quinn murmured. Kurt's face went from shock to horror.

"Oh my god, Quinn! You have to tell him! If you don't, I will!" Kurt exclaimed. Quinn sighed and nodded.

"Look, please don't tell him. I'll tell him when I'm ready. I'm just dealing with a lot right now."

Kurt nodded.

"OK. Fine. But you'd better tell him. And you'd better believe I'm telling Mercedes!"

"Kurt…" Quinn started.

"Hey, when you tell Finn, it'll be out in the open anyway so let this be an extra incentive." Kurt said.

"Kurt, if you can, please could you talk to Finn and help him? He feels like he needs to be strong for the both of us but I know inside, he's freaking out."

Kurt nodded and left the room.

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Finn was sitting in the bleachers, pondering everything that was going on. He needed to get a job. FAST! The doctor's bills, prenatal vitamins, maternity clothes, baby proofing equipment, cribs and other baby equipment were all vital and Finn barely had enough money for one doctor's appointment let alone everything else. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around. It was Kurt.

"What's up, man?" Finn asked. Kurt smiled at him, sympathetically.

"So, I just spoke to Quinn. Wow… that's a lot to deal with. I'm so sorry."

Finn shrugged.

"It's fine. I guess the risk was always there when… you know? But I don't get it. There's no way it's my baby! I wore protection that night and I'm one hundred percent sure it wasn't compromised."

Kurt sighed, feeling so bad that he couldn't tell Finn what scheme really was going on behind his back.

"But I can't focus on that. Right now, my main focus is finding a job. Guess I'm going to be flipping burgers and taking drive-thru McDonald's orders for the rest of my life."

Kurt raised a hand.

"You know… I might have a job opportunity for you." Kurt said. Finn blushed.

"Kurt, I'm flattered, but I'm not interested in… selling my body." Finn murmured.

"No, you weirdo!" Kurt exclaimed. "I meant at my dad's auto repair shop. You used to be a race car driver so you know your way around cars, right?"

Finn nodded.

"Yeah, I had to work pretty closely with the mechanics."

"Cool. I'll talk to my dad about hiring you as a mechanic."

Finn smiled at Kurt.

"Thank you so much, Kurt. You don't know how much that means to me."

"Yeah, don't sweat it." Kurt replied. He felt so bad for Finn and wanted to do as much as he could to help him. However, Quinn was ethically the only person who could break the news to him so Kurt didn't spill Quinn's secret.

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Finn went home that night with the toughest job yet: telling his family. He knew it was going to be rough to tell his family. The only person who would probably be supportive about it was Neve because A, she cared about him more than anyone else in the family and B, she didn't really know all of the negative implications of having a baby given that she was only 8. Finn decided to tell her first. He knocked on the door of Neve's bedroom.

"Um… Neve. Can we talk?" Finn asked. Neve smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" Neve asked, standing up from her desk and walking over to him.

"So… um… I've got some news. I'm not going to lie to you because let's face it, mom and Sarah are about to scream at me and you're all I've got."

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" Neve asked. Finn shook his head.

"So you know how I was on a date with a girl on Friday?" Finn asked. Neve nodded. "Well, she's pregnant. She's going to have a baby. My baby. I'm going to be a dad, which means you're going to be an aunt."

"Oh my god!" Someone exclaimed from the doorway. Finn and Neve spun around to see Sarah standing at the door. "Are you serious, Finn?"

Finn nodded and looked down in shame.

"Unfortunately." He replied. "She's been having morning sickness and everything."

Sarah thought for a moment.

"Wait, that doesn't add up. She told you today?"

"Yesterday, right before she threw up." Finn replied. Sarah nodded and thought some more.

"Um… Finn… as much as I hate to bring this up, is it possible that it isn't your baby? Supposedly, symptoms occur 2-3 WEEKS after conceiving. Not days."

"What are you saying?" Finn asked, confused.

"Look, I love you. So much. You're my brother and I want what's best for you. I'm just thinking that there might be a possibility that she slept with another guy before you and then slept with you to cover it up and pretend that it's yours."

Finn's eyes widened. Technically, that made sense. If she had sex with someone a week before term started, that meant that her morning sickness would start at around this point. It would explain why Finn could have sworn that his condom didn't break as he checked it after. And also, it would explain the glares at Puck if that was the case.

"NO!" Finn told himself and his sisters. "No, she wouldn't do that! That's psychotic!"

"Look, Finn, just do some digging, okay? I'm just trying to look out for you." Sarah said. Finn nodded.

"And even if it is still yours, you're going to be a great dad!" Neve exclaimed.

"What makes you say that? Finn asked.

"Well, look at me! You practically raised me. You weren't only my big brother, you were a friend, and a dad to me when Phillip wasn't around."

"Wow, are you trying to make me even more scared?!" Finn joked. Neve laughed. "Nah, I'm kidding. I guess that's kind of true."

"It is! Who taught me how to ride a bike?" Neve asked.

"Me." Finn replied.

"Who took me out carolling every Christmas without fail, even if it meant flying in from Dubai?"

"Me." Finn replied.

"Who helps me with my homework whenever I need help?"

"Me." Finn replied.

"See?! You're going to be a great dad!" Neve said. Finn hugged both his sisters.

"Thanks, guys. It means a lot." He said.

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The talk to his mom was a lot less painful than he thought it would be. She was actually very supportive. The reason for that was that she got pregnant with Finn while she was still in college and unmarried, and that was the reason she got hitched with Phillip in the first place. She told Finn that if there was anything that either he or Quinn needed and he couldn't pay for with the money he was earning at Kurt's dad's auto shop, Carole was happy to pay it.

That night, Finn went upstairs to bed but he couldn't sleep. Although he trusted Quinn, Sarah and Neve had planted seeds of doubts in his mind and it was impossible to rid himself of them. Eventually, he managed to drift into a dreamless sleep...


	6. Chapter 6

The next few weeks were rough for Finn, to say the least. Between taking care of Quinn, working every afternoon at Burt Hummel's tire shop, and taking care of his sisters while his mom worked nights, Finn was stretched incredibly thin. He was so thankful now that he rejected the solo for Sectionals as he knew that there was no way he would be able to do that on top of everything else. As it was, he was often seen falling asleep during Glee club.

In addition, Finn was getting increasingly suspicious about the paternity of 'his' baby. He knew that Quinn wasn't a virgin and had a fair few exes before him, so there was a chance that one of them was the father. At the top of his suspect list was Puck. Although Puck was supposedly his best friend, he seemed to be extremely shady. Whenever Quinn needed something, obviously Finn would try and help her, but Puck would too. Finn tried to tell himself that it was because the two were friends, but he knew that there was something ominous at play.

On the evening before Thanksgiving, Finn and Burt were working late in the tire shop. Finn was testing the new engine he had installed on a Mercedes, smiling to himself as the rev rang around across the garage. Hearing that gorgeous sound made him nostalgic. It made him think back to all those races where while they were on the starting grid, the cars would rev their engines in almost perfect harmony. Finn stepped out of the car when he was finally satisfied with the engine, and he almost walked into someone.

"Kurt. Um… your dad's through there in the break room." Finn said, pointing to the side door. Kurt nodded and started to walk towards the door but turned back when he was about halfway there.

"Wait… what are you doing here? It's the night before Thanksgiving. Shouldn't you be with your family?"

Finn shrugged.

"I need the money." Finn replied, simply. "With Quinn approaching her second trimester, I don't have much choice. The bills are started to flow in."

Finn noticed a flash of sympathy in Kurt's eyes that he would have missed if he blinked. It wasn't the same sympathy that was evident in everyone else's when Finn told them his girlfriend was pregnant. This one was different - it was almost like he knew something that Finn didn't. The look disappeared almost instantly but Finn decided to press that lead.

"Um… Kurt…" Finn murmured. "Can I confide in you about something?" Finn asked. Kurt nodded.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"Um… I don't know how to say this but I think there might be a chance that I'm not the father of Quinn's baby. I don't know how, I don't know why, but I just have a bad feeling it might be someone else."

There it was again! That look! Kurt knew something! Although Kurt was being horrible for not telling the truth, Finn understood the loyalty that Kurt had towards one of his closest friends. Anyways, Kurt had already told him more than enough with his eyes.

"Well, if there is a different father, which by the way, Quinn hasn't said anything about to me, you can always ask for a paternity test. There's no harm to the baby and if it'll put your mind at ease, it could be the way to go."

Finn smiled. Thank god for Kurt! Finn could tell Kurt was internally wrestling with telling him something, but Finn personally hoped that he didn't for several reasons. First of all, Finn didn't want to be the one destroying Quinn and Kurt's friendship. And second, and more importantly, whatever Kurt said, Quinn could just deny. There was no hard proof of the paternity being anyone but him. YET.

"Thank you, Kurt. It feels really good to let that load out of my mind, and I'll think about the paternity test thing. It might not be such a great idea because even if I'm not the father, I don't want to put Quinn through increased stress in case it harms the innocent baby."

Kurt smiled faintly.

"You're such a nice guy, Finn. And you know, the baby may well still be yours. The paternity test is just a load off your mind."

Finn nodded. He wanted that paternity test more than anything, but he needed a little bit more proof first. Suddenly, he had an idea…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

A week later, Quinn was in the mall, meeting up with Puck. Finn told her that he was out of town that weekend so Quinn wanted to take the opportunity to spend some time with her actual baby daddy. She finally had a plan of what to do when the baby arrived: she was going to tell Finn that the baby was actually Puck when Finn was too attached to leave her and the baby, but she still wanted Puck to have somewhat of a relationship with the baby, even if it was as 'Uncle Puck'.

The two of them were walking around the mall when suddenly, a blonde girl, probably no older than 14, walked over to them.

"Excuse me? Can I please one of your phones? Mine died and I need to call my mom to pick me up."

Quinn smiled at her and handed her the phone. The girl beamed back.

"Thank you so much, and can I just say that you are glowing! How many weeks are you?" The girl asked.

"Um… I just entered my second trimester, so 15 weeks."

The girl nodded. 15 weeks, not the thirteen that she had told Finn. That would have meant that she had been impregnated in the first few weeks of August.

"That's awesome! And can I just say that you two would have the most attractive children?! I'm sorry, that's kinda forward! He is the father, right?"

Quinn and Puck nodded.

"Yeah, I am." Puck replied. BUSTED! After a quick fake phone call to a random number, the girl handed Quinn her phone back and smiled.

"Thank you so much! Have a great day!" The girl said cheerfully.

"Yeah, you too." Quinn replied.

The girl walked away and as she was walking away, took out the phone that was concealed in her pocket and turned off the voice memos app that was previously active. There it was! Proof that Puck was the father! Finn, who had been waiting nervously in his car, jumped as the door opened and the girl stepped into the passenger's seat.

"So, did you get anything, Sarah?" Finn asked, hopefully. Despite his fears about having a baby that young, he desperately wanted the baby to be his. Sarah, with tears in her eyes, played him the audio file and at the end, Finn looked at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Okay…" He said after taking a deep breath. "This kind of proves it but there's still a small chance she was just lying to get out of the conversation."

"Finn, come on, she was clutching his arm, touching his chest and holding his hand. People don't do that for just a friend. I would have videoed it if I could."

"No, you did perfectly." Finn replied, firmly. "We would have been blown if you did anything more."

"I know, it's just I… wait, what are you doing?" She asked. Finn had just taken out his laptop and shot a quick email to someone.

"I'm getting video evidence in three… two… one…"

Suddenly, his laptop dinged and Finn pulled up a video. Sarah's eyes widened.

"Wait… that's security footage of the mall!" She exclaimed. Finn nodded. "How did you get this?" She asked, perplexed. Finn shrugged.

"I threatened to kill his whole family if he didn't cooperate." Finn joked, but in a serious tone. Sarah's face paled.

"Oh my God, you did?" She stammered. Finn laughed at the fear and astonishment in her face.

"No, you imbecile!" Finn snorted. "It's not even against the law to ask for security footage of yourself. In fact, it's a legal right to be able to ask. While I was sitting in the car just now, I drafted an email to mall security, explaining my situation and asking for the footage, which they just sent me. Now let's watch…"

They watched as Quinn and Puck walked into frame, holding hands and inaudibly flirting. They were clearly acting as if boyfriend and girlfriend, proving Sarah and Finn right that Quinn was lying to him. Finn took a deep, shaky breath. There was still a chance that Quinn thought she was pregnant with Puck's child, but instead was impregnated by Finn.

"I'm so sorry, Finn." Sarah said yet again. Finn was bleeding on the inside, but he forced a determined look on his face.

"It's fine. I have three solid pieces of evidence now. I've been reading and it should be enough to rush a subpoena and take her to paternity court."

"Court? I thought you just wanted her to take a paternity test?" Sarah asked, confused.

"I'm also suing her 10,000 dollars." Finn replied. Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Um… why?" She asked. Finn looked her right in the eye.

"Well, she did screw me over and make me spend 8,000 dollars of my hard earned money and the other 2 for emotional distress. I had to work from 4 pm - midnight every day, 7 days a week. I barely got any sleep and that caused a drop in my grades. I also never really got a chance to see my family these past few months. Like let's be honest, this is the most I've seen you since Quinn's pregnancy began and this is only because it's Thanksgiving weekend."

Sarah looked down.

"Wow… Finn. I didn't really know how much you were really going through. You should be suing 100k in emotional distress!"

Finn laughed.

"Yeah, I don't think it works like that." Finn remarked. Sarah nodded.

"Yeah, I know. But I wasn't kidding. I honestly didn't know how much you've been through in such a short time. I should have been there for you more. I could've gotten a part time job to help you pay for bills."

Finn shook his head furiously.

"No! There's no way I was getting you involved in my crap." Finn said. "It's bad enough I corrupted Neve, so you might well be this family's last chance at success."

Sarah laughed.

"You didn't corrupt Neve. You took care of her. And me too. You've always had our backs, so know that we are going to forever have yours."

Finn smiled.

"Thanks, Sarah. Love you." He said, giving her a hug. She smiled and returned the hug.

"Love you too."


	7. Chapter 7

The next week, the Glee club were all gathered in the choir room, ready to get started but there was still one person missing: Finn. He hadn't shown up when rehearsal started so the New Directions tried to start rehearsing their group number but it was monumentally difficult. Around halfway through rehearsal, Rachel stopped singing and stomped her foot in frustration.

"Where the hell is Finn?" Rachel asked. "We're meant to be rehearsing our Sectional group number preparation now but we can't do that without our male lead!"

"Yeah, Rachel's right. Quinn, do you have any idea where he is?" Mr. Schue asked. Quinn shrugged.

"I have no idea. He was out of town last weekend but he should have been back last night." Quinn replied. Suddenly, Finn walked into the room, clutching an envelope in his hands.

"Finn, where have you been?" Mr. Schue asked, slightly ticked off. "Rehearsals started a half hour ago."

Finn shrugged and walked over to Quinn. He handed her the envelope. She raised an eyebrow.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Subpoena." Finn replied, simply. "I'm taking you to court this Saturday."

"Um… what?" Quinn asked, more nervous than confused though.

"I have several reasons to believe that the baby isn't mine. It's Puck's, and I'm sick and tired of being screwed over. I've known something was off from the moment you told me you were pregnant, and I'm finally taking action. I spent all of Sunday in the courthouse and showed them the evidence and they believed it to be enough to schedule a paternity test this Saturday. And we're also going to court because in the scenario that it isn't my baby, I'm suing you $15 thousand."

Everyone in the room gasped. This was turning into something straight out of a soap opera, but unfortunately, it was reality.

"Finn, you can't do that!" Quinn exclaimed. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Why? You have nothing to worry about if you have nothing to hide. You do have nothing to hide, right?" Finn challenged her. Quinn put on an indignant expression.

"Of course not! I know that it's your baby! I just don't appreciate being sued and taken to court by my own boyfriend!"

Finn shrugged.

"You know, given that I have three pieces of incriminating evidence, soon to be four when we get that paternity test done, I'm really not worried. And the test doesn't harm your baby in any way so you have nothing to worry about."

Everyone was astonished. Other than Kurt and Puck and Quinn of course, none of them had any idea that the baby wasn't Finn's. Finn then turned to Mr. Schue, who was shell shocked.

"Mr. Schue, if you don't mind, I'd like to take the next week away from Glee. I have a lot to think about and process. Maybe I'll be back after the court date."

Mr. Schue nodded.

"Yeah, take all the time you need. That's certainly a lot to be going through and your well-being is certainly more important than any court date. Are people allowed to come to the trial?"

Finn nodded.

"Well, we'll definitely be there! I don't know about you guys but I, for one, definitely want to see how this whole thing plays out!" Santana exclaimed.

"See you on Saturday, Quinn. And don't even think about not showing up. That's an official court subpoena and ignoring it will cause you a fine and possibly even jail time."

WIth that, Finn walked out of the room.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"So, is Finn right? Is the baby really Puck's?" Mercedes asked. Glee rehearsal had just ended and the New Directions were obviously gossiping about what had just happened. Quinn shook her head.

"No, of course not!" She said, unconvincingly. Everyone raised their eyebrows.

"Really? Come on, Quinn! The truth is going to come out on Saturday. You might as well tell the truth!"

Quinn sighed.

"OK. Fine. There's a small chance it could be Puck's." Quinn murmured, tears springing to her eyes. Everyone gasped.

"Like how much?" Tina asked, appalled.

"99%" Quinn said.

"OH MY GOD! So what part did Finn actually play in all of this? And where does Puck come into play?" Mike exclaimed. Quinn was forced to admit the truth. She told them all about how she actually found out about her pregnancy before she even slept with Finn, and how after she slept with him, she lied and said that it was his baby. Her plan was an extremely malevolent yet intelligent one, and it came so close to perfection.

"That's horrible! How could you do that to Finn? He's been nothing but kind to you." Mike exclaimed. Quinn nodded her head.

"That's exactly it. Finn would have been such an amazing father. That's why I chose him."

"Um… you didn't choose him. You forced him. There's a big difference. You can't manipulate people like that!" Tina exclaimed. Quinn shrugged.

"So sue me!" Quinn cried. "Wait a second… how did he find out? Nobody knew about it but me, Puck and…"

Quinn spun around and faced Kurt.

"Kurt! How could you tell him?! How could you betray me like that?!" Quinn spat. Kurt held his hands up in surrender.

"I didn't tell him! I just nudged him in the right direction!" Kurt exclaimed. "He was working in my dad's garage a couple of weeks ago and he told me that he had been having doubts that it was his baby since you first told him you were pregnant. All I told him was that if he wanted to put his mind at ease, there were always prenatal paternity tests. But I have no idea about what evidence that he collected, or why he's suing you."

"You still betrayed me!" Quinn shouted. Kurt shook his head.

"No, I did the right thing! What were you going to do? Lie to him until when… when the baby's born and he realises it looks nothing like him? When it grows up enough to look exactly like Puck? In case you haven't noticed, Finn and Puck look nothing alike!"

"Kurt's right. What you did was horrible! And Finn was bound to find out eventually. But that's not the point. The point is that you were willing to ruin Finn's life for your own selfish reasons! That's a real bitch move if you ask me." Mercedes said. Quinn scowled at her.

"How dare you?! You don't know what it's like to be pregnant! I just wanted the best for my kid."

"Really? That's a lie. You wanted the best for Quinn Fabray and no one else. If you wanted the best for your kid, you would have told Finn right at the beginning and let him decide whether he stuck around or not. Because if you didn't, Finn would inevitably find out anyway and that could be after the child's born. Then, what would you do? Finn would be done with you and your kid, you would have pushed Puck away so he would have been out of the picture. Your baby would have no father. So don't even try telling us that you were doing what was best for your kid!" Kurt went off on his friend.

Quinn stormed out of the room, tears streaking down her face because of the lack of support and cold shoulder she was receiving from her friends. She honestly thought that they would see her side of the story. And even if they didn't, she thought that they would side with her, given that she'd known all of them for at least three years and they had only known Finn for a couple of months. Moveover, she was stressing out extremely badly about what was about to happen when the DNA test came back. She knew that the baby probably wasn't Finn's, but she had to stay strong in court and argue the small chance that it wasn't. Besides, in terms of the suing of the 15 thousand, it really was just her word against him. It's not like there was any hard proof, was there?

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

On the day of the trial, Finn woke up that morning, not even nervous. He had reviewed his case so many times, and there weren't lawyers or anything. The judge would just be asking both Finn and Quinn a couple of questions, Finn would present his evidence, the judge would announce the result of the DNA and how much Quinn would have to pay him if the baby was not his. Finn's whole family was going to the trial to support him, and Quinn's family were going to support Quinn. As devout Catholics, they were naturally extremely upset that Quinn had gotten herself knocked up, but they refrained from punishing her in any way when they thought that the father was a nice, caring, generous guy like Finn. However, if they found out that the baby was Puck's, they probably would kick Quinn out of the house. That was another reason why Quinn lied about the paternity of the baby.

Neve, who was wearing a plain black dress, walked over to him in the living room.

"Are you nervous?" She asked. Finn sighed and shook his head.

"I wish I was. That would mean that I thought there was a chance of it being my baby. It's just defeated acceptance now."

Neve gave him a hug.

"Think about it this way… after today, you'll finally have closure. You'll be able to move on with your life."

Finn nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. And who knows? Maybe the kid is mine? I might still be a dad."

Neve raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, do you want it to come back positive?" She asked. Finn sighed and nodded.

"Honestly, I so badly want it to be positive. I want to believe Quinn, but with all the evidence that Sarah and I collected, the outlook isn't so good."

Suddenly, Carole and Sarah walked into the room.

"You ready to go, Finn?" Carole asked. Finn nodded and the four of them got in the car and drove to the courthouse.


	8. Chapter 8

Finn and his family walked into the courthouse. It was pretty busy with people there for various different things such as marriage/divorce licenses, and people there on parking misdemeanors.

After a quick blood collection in the medical room to be used in the paternity test, Finn and his family were led to the section of the courthouse where all of the courtrooms were, and it was there that Finn saw Quinn and her family as well as the whole Glee club. When Finn walked over, Quinn's parents stormed over to him.

"Who the hell do you think you are, accusing our daughter of this! You should be locked up in some kind of mental asylum!" Mr. Fabray shouted. Finn rolled his eyes and ignored him. Finn looked over at Quinn, who looked to be sweating profusely in nervousness. He walked over to her.

"What do you want?" She snapped when he came over. Finn sighed.

"Look, I wanted to wish you good luck. If you truly believe it's mine and the results come back to show it's mine, I want to, from the bottom of my heart, apologise. The truth will you free, isn't that what they say?" Finn asked. He was purposely trying to politely get into Quinn's head and on her nerves so that she maybe slips up later in court. Eventually, they were all led into the courtroom. Finn's family sat on the benches behind him, and Quinn's family sat on the benches behind her, and the Glee club sat in the middle, as a show of neutrality. The last thing they wanted this close to Sectionals was to have this kind of drama happening, but this was much more important than a stupid show chor competition. This would be a bombshell on the lives of Quinn Fabray, Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman. Suddenly, a police guard walked into the room and stood at the front.

"All rise for the honorable Judge Lake!" He announced. They all stood as an african-american judge by the name of Lauren Lake walked in. She walked over to her judge's bench and sat down.

"You may be seated." She dictated, in a firm tone. Finn immediately knew that she was not one to be messed with. The security guard handed her the file with all of the information about the case that Finn had submitted, including the DNA results which he had not yet seen.

"Good day everyone." Judge lake addressed the room.

"Good day." They all chanted tensely in reply.

"So… this is the case of Hudson vs Fabray. Mr. Hudson, you are in court today claiming that the child currently in Ms. Fabray's stomach is not your own, but of your friend, Mr. Noah Puckerman. Is that correct?"

"Yes, your honor." Finn replied.

"Now, Mr. Hudson, you are also suing Ms. Fabray for the amount of $15,000, 8 for all of the baby items and doctor's appointments you paid for, 4 for the defamation of character, and 3 for emotional distress. Is that correct?"

"Absolutely, your honor." Finn replied.

"And Ms. Fabray, it says here in your statement that the father of your baby has to be Mr. Hudson, also if it isn't him, you know it's Mr. Puckerman. Is that correct?"

"Yes, your honor." Quinn said.

"Now, that sounds pretty contradicting, if you ask me." Judge Lake told her. "How can you be certain that Mr. Hudson is the father if there is, indeed, another guy."

Quinn didn't say anything, so Judge Lake turned back to Finn.

"And Mr. Hudson, you say that you have both video and audio proof that Mr. Puckerman was definitely the father of Ms. Fabray's child, and that you have proof that her pregnancy dates that she told are all messed up, and that she tells everyone but you that the baby is not 14 weeks old, but 16 weeks old, which is the time when Ms. Fabray slept with Mr. Puckerman."

"Allegedly slept with him, your honor. I'm not admitting to it." Quinn chimed in. Finn raised an eyebrow. Here was his first opportunity to poke holes in Quinn's credibility.

"Your honor, Ms. Fabray has just refused to admit that she slept with Mr. Puckerman, but if that's the case, why in your statement did you write that if I'm not the father, it's definitely him?" Finn asked Quinn directly.

"Objection!" Quinn cried. "Relevance, your honor?" Quinn asked, almost begging Judge Lake to stop Finn from asking follow up questions. Luckily for Finn, Judge Lake was fair and not biased.

"Overruled. Mr. Hudson, do you have anything else you'd like to say to that end?"

Finn nodded.

"Um… yes your honor. In fact, I'd like to bring up my first piece of evidence to the stand." He said.

"Please, go ahead." Judge Lake said. Finn handed his first piece of evidence to the security guard, Hank, who gave it to Judge Lake.

"Mr. Hudson, what is this?" Judge Lake asked, knowing full well what it was but wanted Finn to announce it to the whole court. The page of evidence was also broadcasted for those in the stands to see.

"This, your honor, is Ms. Fabray's bank record over the past three months." Finn announced. Everyone raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Hudson, may I ask how the hell you got our daughter's bank details?!" Mr. Fabray exclaimed.

"Mr. Fabray! Please do not address the defendant!" Judge Lake exclaimed. "Mr. Hudson, how did you obtain this information?"

"Well, your honor…" Finn said. "That was actually one of the reasons I brought this evidence in the first place. I have Ms. Fabray's bank details because I was the one transferring her money every money out of my hard earned pay check to support her purchases for the baby."

"Mr. Hudson, we'll talk about all of that later. Right now, I would like to see the evidence of Ms. Fabray's affair with Mr. Puckerman."

Finn pointed out a purchase that he had highlighted. It was from a long time ago - all the way back in mid-August.

"I wanted to point out this purchase right here, your honor." Finn said. "It dates back to August 12th, at 6:12 am, 12 minutes after the bodega opened. There was a purchase made for a box of home pregnancy tests by your card. This was before Ms. Fabray and I had even met, and it was the exact date I believe that Ms. Fabray's baby was conceived."

"Ms. Fabray… what do you have to say to your defense?" Judge Lake asked. Quinn shrugged.

"It was about to be the beginning of the next academic year and I wanted to buy some, just to be safe." Quinn said, nonchalantly. To be fair, she had handled that questioning pretty well.

"OK, that seems fair enough. Mr. Hudson, anything to add?"

Finn noded.

"Yeah, I do actually, but you have every right to discard it given that there's no hard evidence. But when Ms. Fabray told me she was pregnant, I asked her if she had taken a test. She said yes. And then threw up, which I found peculiar later when I was doing some reading. Apparently, nausea in a pregnancy occurs two - three weeks after conceiving, not a matter of 24 hours, which was the turnaround time for Ms. Fabray."

"I didn't throw up because of pregnancy nausea. I threw up because of stress." She said, casually. Again, a plausible reason. Judge Lake turned back to Finn.

Mr. Hudson, anything else?"

"Um… yeah your honor but yet again, no hard proof on this front. If you look at the receipt, you'll see that no pregnancy tests were bought since the pack of 8 Ms. Fabray bought in mid August. When we went back to her house so she could take a few more tests in case it was a false negative, I was the one who handed her the tests and when I opened the box, I swear to god that two of the tests were already used, one of them presumably that morning by her, but that leaves us to question… When did she use the other? Sometime between August 12 and September 2nd, which was when she told me she was pregnant." Finn announced. Quinn's face paled. She had been caught in a lie. The next few moments would be vital for her credibility in the case so she needed to stay calm.

"Ms. Fabray… do you have anything to add?"

"No, your honor." Quinn muttered, defeatedly. Quinn's parents glared at her. They knew as well as she did that Quinn's case was falling apart, but little did they know that Finn was just getting started.

"Thank you for that, Mr. Hudson. That definitely makes Ms. Fabray's credibility takes a hit, and it's now pretty certain that Ms. Fabray and Mr. Puckerman had an affair. However, there's nothing that proves that he was the father of Ms. Fabray's child rather than yourself. Ms. Fabray, did Mr. Hudson and Mr. Puckerman both use protection during coitus?" Judge Lake asked. Quinn raised an eyebrow. Finally, a chance for her to take control of the case.

"No, your honor. Mr. Puckerman used protection, Mr. Hudson didn't."

That was a bold faced lie.

"Objection, your honor." Finn said, calmly raising his hand.

"On what grounds, Mr. Hudson?" She asked. Finn smirked.

"On the grounds that I have the receipt to the pack of 3 condoms I bought, and I also have the two unused condoms, as well as the packet of the one used condom from that night."

Quinn's face dropped. Well, if credibility wasn't gone before, it definitely was now. After Judge Lake examined the evidence, she nodded.

"Mr. Hudson is telling the truth. The barcode and production/expiry date are exactly the same on all three of these condoms, proving that Mr. Hudson did use protection during his night with Ms. Fabray. Ms. Fabray, do you have anything to say?"

"Sure, your honor. Just because you wore a condom doesn't mean that it didn't break. It's not like you have the condom with you today, right Mr. Hudson?"

"I don't. However, every time I have engaged in coitus in the past, I have specifically checked the condom afterwards for rips and I swear, while under oath, that there were no rips present."

"Unfortunately, we're going to need a bit more than that. We know for pretty certain that Ms. Fabray and Mr. Puckerman had an affair, but do you have any hard evidence that Mr. Puckerman is the father of the baby?"

"Yes, I do. I have video evidence of Ms. Fabray and Mr. Puckerman flirting, holding hands and kissing, and I have audio evidence of Ms. Fabray admitting that Mr. Puckerman is the father."


	9. Chapter 9

Everyone in the courtroom gasped. Nobody expected this. Well, nobody but Sarah, who had helped him get the evidence in the first place.

"OK, Mr. Hudson, can you please bring up your first bit of evidence?" Judge Lake asked. Finn nodded and the CCTV footage of Puck and Quinn in the mall came up on the screen.

"Before I begin playing this short film, I would like to give some backstory. This was right before Thanksgiving weekend, and I had told Ms. Fabray that I was out of town with my family for Thanksgiving when in reality, I was still in town collecting evidence to be able to take her to court. This video shows Ms. Fabray and Mr. Puckerman behaving in a way that is certainly inappropriate for banter between friends. Here it is…"

"Objection, your honor!" Quinn shouted, getting more and more nervous as seconds went on.

"On what grounds?" Judge Lake asked.

"He lied to me about going out of town so who knows what else he lied about?" Quinn exclaimed. "None of this footage is valid because he probably obtained it illegally."

"Overruled." Judge Lake replied. "But Mr. Hudson, before you play the footage, may I ask how you obtained it?"

"Sure, your honor. Ms. Fabray, you think I got this illegally? You're wrong. I just explained my situation to the guy politely and he sent me the footage of the relevant hours. What people do for you when you're kind and polite to them. Not that you'd know, Quinn." Finn muttered the last part under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear him.

"Mr. Hudson…" Judge Lake warned. "I understand your frustration but I must ask you to keep things civil."

Finn nodded.

"I apologise, Ms. Fabray. May I please play the video, your honor?" Finn asked. Judge Lake nodded and Finn pressed play on the video. It was the mall CCTV footage of Quinn and Puck in the mall, flirting and laughing. Finn paused the video suddenly and pointed to the screen. Puck's hand was on Quinn's waist and hers were on his bicep and chest.

"Your honor, I don't know about you but I'd feel mighty uncomfortable to be in that position with 'just a friend.' That is definitely Mr. Puckerman and Ms. Fabray, and they are clearly flirting."

"Ms. Fabray… anything to say before Mr. Hudson continues the video?"

Quinn, who was blushing furiously, nodded.

"We weren't out as boyfriend and girlfriend. We were just out as friends." Quinn stated. Judge Lake scoffed in disbelief.

"So are you telling me that that is how you treat all of your friends?" Judge Lake said. Quinn nodded.

"Yeah I do. I was just raised that way." Quinn replied, fiercely. Finn raised a hand.

"Judge Lake, in that case, I would like to call up Mr. Sam Evans, Mr. Mike Chang, Mr. Kurt Hummel and Mr. Artie Abrams to try and verify Ms. Fabray's story." Finn announced. Judge Lake nodded and the 4 boys walked up to the stand.

"Gentlemen… has Ms. Fabray ever shown that kind of behavior towards any of you?" Judge Lake asked. The four boys shook their heads, but it was Sam who helped the most.

"Actually, your honor, she did for the two months that we were dating during the beginning of last year, but never before or after."

Quinn had been caught in a lie yet again, and she wasn't happy.

"And if that doesn't prove it, I hope to God this does." Finn said, before playing it for a couple more seconds and then pausing it on a frame of Quinn and Puck sitting on a bench, kissing. It physically hurt Finn to look at this, but he knew that he needed to broadcast it for the benefit of the case. Everyone started murmuring again in shock when they saw it. But Finn wasn't done yet. Far from it.

"Mr. Hudson, yet again you are proving that Mr. Puckerman and Ms. Fabray were indeed seeing each other behind your back which is in a way indirectly evidence that you might not be the father, but you don't have anything clear-cut that proves against you being the father."

Finn looked at Sarah. She nodded at him reassuringly.

"Actually, your honor, I do. If you'd please keep watching this video…" Finn said before playing the camera footage once again. He paused it when he saw Sarah walk towards Quinn and Puck and ask to borrow their phones. "Your honor, I was wrestling with whether I wanted to even arrange this court date or not because I really didn't want added stress on Ms. Fabray and her baby in the rare off chance that it's actually mine, so I wanted incriminating proof that the baby was not mine. And that's why my sister conducted this small operation. My sister started recording audio on her phone and put it in her pocket before walking up to Ms. Fabray and Mr. Puckerman and asking if she could borrow their phone to call our mom because she had 'forgotten hers at home.' While she was 'dialling', she had a short conversation with them. Listen to what Ms. Fabray says…"

Finn played the audio file and it rang around the room. The audience listened as Quinn admitted, on tape, that Puck was the father and that she was actually impregnated two weeks before she slept with Finn. Quinn's parents burst into silent tears upon listening to this. They knew that the case was pretty much over. It would take a miracle for the results to show Finn being the father.

"Objection, your honor! Mr. Hudson obtained this evidence illegally and therefore it is irrelevant in court." Quinn announced. Judge Lake turned to Finn.

"Mr. Hudson… Ms. Fabray has a point. As incriminating as this evidence might be, it was obtained illegally."

"Actually, your honor, it's not illegal at all. I spent all of Tuesday and Wednesday in the courthouse, obtaining a warrant for this evidence to be used in court. Here are all of the official forms." Finn said, handing them to her but locking eyes with Quinn the whole time. Quinn was petrified now. The only part left would be discussing how much Quinn would have to pay Finn if the paternity came back in his favour.

"OK. Mr. Hudson. Ms. Fabray. I think I've heard enough. Now, let's discuss the 15,000 dollars that you, Mr. Hudson, are suing Ms. Fabray. Let's start with the first 8, which is to replace all of the money you have spent on stuff for the baby."

Finn nodded and handed the judge his own banking statements, as well as pulling up Quinn's.

"So, your honor, as you see here, I had to transfer Quinn 8,264 dollars that I managed to earn working in a tire shop every day after school. I personally believe that Ms. Fabray is lucky that I'm not suing for more because A, technically there was still another 264$ but I'm rounding down. And B, I'm not even including all of the meals I've had to buy for Ms. Fabray, during which she eats more than double because she's pregnant. This is unimportant to the case but I ran the numbers last night and technically, I have spent 8814 dollars on everything pertaining to this baby, but I'm only suing for 8k in terms of money lost."

"Ms. Fabray, would you like to respond to that?"

Quinn was shell shocked.

"Yeah, um… I'd like to say that even if you're not the father, given that you're one of mine and Mr. Puckerman's best friends, shouldn't you be volunteering to help pay for that anyways?" Quinn asked. Finn literally laughed out loud.

"Are you joking? Ms. Fabray, let me ask you this… how much money have you actually spent on this baby so far. Because I paid for doctor's visits, maternity clothes, baby toys, cribs etc which by the way, I have no idea why I had to pay for them so early, every one of your meals, I paid for gas as I drove you everywhere. You didn't pay a single penny while I was working myself to the bone, damaging my injured spine even more to earn enough money to provide for you."

"That brings me to my next point, Mr. Hudson. Why are you suing Ms. Fabray 3,000 dollars for physical distress."

Finn laughed.

"Honestly, it should be a lot more. A LOT MORE." Finn said. "Your honor, just over a year ago, not to toot my own horn or anything but I was one of the most promising young racing drivers in the world. I had an almost guaranteed future in F1 from the minute I turned 18. However, that all vanished when I was in a bad crash and injured my spine. Here are the documents from the various doctors' appointments." Finn said, handing the judge a small stack of paper.

"Mr. Hudson, is this all relevant?" Judge Lake asked. Finn nodded.

"Yes, your honor. I'd like you to read the verdict of those doctor's appointment documents. It says that my back will not disintegrate even further for as long as I don't stay in the same position for long periods of time, bend my back at weird angles, and carry heavy loads. When Ms. Fabray told me she was pregnant, I had to get a job and my job at the tire shop involved me doing all three of those things, a LOT. Now, for more proof that this job that Ms. Fabray basically forced me to get did damage to my back, I ended up pushing forward my appointment with the chiropractor that I normally have every three months and I would like to present my documents from that appointment that prove, in the three month period since I last saw him, my back regress significantly. That's all I have on that front, your honor."

Finn sat back down, satisfied with everything that was going on. He had always loved Law and Order shows and to actually be in court, arguing his case, felt exhilarating. Judge Lake nodded. Finn knew that she was on his side.

"And finally, Mr. Hudson, you are suing Ms. Fabray 4 thousand dollars for emotional hardships. What do you have to say about that?"

Finn nodded.

"OK, first of all, your honor, I'm not even going to begin to describe how difficult it was to deal with Ms. Fabray with her mood swings every 5 minutes. Honestly, at some points, I genuinely would have rather been in another car accident than listen to her bitch about literally everything under the sun."

"Easy, Mr. Hudson…" Judge Lake warned. Finn nodded.

"I apologise, and anyways, that's not what I meant by emotional hardships. I meant that during the first term of my senior year of high school, in two months, I had to work exactly 392 hours. 7 hours a day (from 5 pm to midnight when I locked up) every day for around 28 days a month for two months. During that time, I obviously got no time to see my two favourite people in the world - my two sisters - and that was really rough for me, emotionally. I already suffer from anxiety and depression and not seeing them really lowered my mental health level."

"Your honor, objection!" Quinn cried once more. Judge Lake sighed.

"On what grounds, Ms. Fabray?" Judge Lake asked, slightly annoyed at Quinn.

"On the grounds that Mr. Hudson is exaggerating the number of hours he worked." Quinn declared. Judge Lake turned to Mr. Hudson.

"Is this true, Mr. Hudson? After all, 392 does seem like a lot."

Finn nodded.

"It is a lot, but it's true and I can prove it. I wear an Apple Smartwatch which is constantly tracking GPS. Here are the places I've been to in the past month according to my watch data and how long I've been to them for." Finn said, handing the judge yet more evidence in his favor. He had literally planned for every single situation. This case was the most important moment of his life and he could not let Quinn get away with anything.

"Your honor, he could have always just have left his watch in the garage to forge statistics." Quinn exclaimed. Finn rolled his eyes. Quinn was truly flailing now, but he had planned for something like this. He handed the judge a flash drive.

"This, your honor, is the CCTV footage of the tire shop for the past 2 months. If you skip to any day from 5-12 midnight, I guarantee you'll see me."

The judge did that on various different days until she was satisfied.

"OK, Mr. Hudson, anything more to say?"

"I rest my case, your honor." Finn said with a faint smile on his face. He had done it! He had argued his case in a polite, orderly fashion and had done a damn good job. He felt Neve and Sarah, who were sitting behind him, put him on the back supportingly.

"Ms. Fabray, do you have anything more to say?"

"Um… no, your honor. Nothing other than this. Mr. Hudson, when the paternity test comes back as you being the father, I just hope that you love the child just as much and treat it just as well as you would with any other child you'd have." Quinn said. Finn nodded.

"Yes, ma'am." Finn replied. Judge Lake smiled.

"Everyone, listen up… I will take a quick 5 minute break as I deliberate on how much Ms. Fabray will have to pay Mr. Hudson in the event that the baby isn't his…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Good day everyone. Welcome back." Judge Lake said 5 minutes later. "Sorry for keeping you all. I have come to my decision. I have gone through this case file more thoroughly and I read that because Mr. Hudson is under 18 while suing, his mother, Ms. Carole Hudson, wrote down her own amount that she believed to be a fair amount for this case. Is this true, Ms. Hudson?"

Carole stood up.

"Yes, your honor. I did." Carole replied. Judge Lake nodded.

"I compared the two amounts and I have to say… I do believe that Mr. Hudson, you asked for much too little in this situation, and Ms. Hudson, you asked for a bit too much. So I have come to a compromise. If the DNA test comes back negative, Ms. Fabray… you and your family will have to pay Mr. Hudson 25 thousand dollars."

Finn almost choked on the water he was drinking. 25k? That was so much money, and way more than he was expecting to receive! Not that Quinn didn't deserve it though. Her face had lost all of the little color she had left on her face, and she looked like she was about to throw up.

"Um… 25 million, your honor? How come the sudden increase?" Finn asked. Judge Lake smiled sympathetically at him.

"Well, Mr. Hudson, I was reading your file and it was the physical damage part of your sue that hit me hardest. You asked for much, much too little. After all, health is top priority in any scenario. Which is why I added 8 to the physical damages section and 2 to the emotional damages because I can tell how stressed and nervous you were about this trial. Anyways, I have the DNA results right here…" She said, opening an envelope. "Mr. Hudson, in the case of Ms. Fabray's unborn child, you…"


	10. Chapter 10

"Mr. Hudson, in the case of Ms. Fabray's unborn child, you…"

Finn's heart raced. Are the father? Are NOT the father? The next two words out of Judge Lake's mouth could determine Finn's whole future. He was starting to sweat nervously and he felt like he was going to both vomit and pass out at the same time. He glanced over and saw that Quinn looked exactly the same way. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. She knew just as well as he did what the result was going to say. However, both of them were actually hoping for a miracle.

"Are NOT the father. I'm very sorry, Mr. Hudson."

Quinn's whole family immediately started sobbing. Finn put his head in his hands. It was official now, it made the pain one million times worse. Pain, humiliation, anger, heartbreak and frustration all stabbed through him like knives. He hurt worse than he had ever hurt before. Worse than the day he had found out that he would never race again. Finn started to break down. He vaguely felt Neve's hand slip into his and squeeze it comfortingly. His mind was numb with the pain. It was like the feelings of devastation inside him were battling with the feelings of rage.

"Ms. Fabray…" Judge Lake said. "I'm guessing that because Mr. Hudson is not the father, the father is Mr. Puckerman?" She asked. Quinn sniffled back tears and nodded.

"Yes, your honor. Mr. Puckerman has to be the baby's father." Quinn replied.

"Well then…" Juge Lake said. "I suggest you put your big girl panties on and start prioritizing your child over yourself and your happiness. Your child is the priority in every situation, and he/she needs a father."

"Yes, your honor." Quinn murmured. "And Finn, I'm really, really sorry about everything. But, your honor, I don't have 25 thousand dollars to pay Mr. Hudson."

"Well then it's going to come out of your college fund, I guess. Because you're under 18, your parents are the ones who pay the debt to Mr. Hudson's family. You all have two weeks to put together the money before your family will have to face repercussions. Mr. Hudson, do you have anything more to say to Ms. Fabray?"

Finn finally got over the shock and numbness he was feeling and he felt pain more than anything else. He looked Quinn right in the eye.

"Yeah, your honor." He said. "Quinn, I just want to thank you. Last year, I was not a good person at all. I would sneak into bars, drink myself blind, get into fights. I wasn't there for the people who loved me and needed me… my family. But this year, I so wanted to turn that around. After everything bad that happened to me, I was hoping that if I turned my life around, some good karma would come my way. But thank you for proving me wrong. Thank you for proving that whichever way I turn, I'm going to get screwed over. That there's no point even trying to be a good person."

"Mr. Hudson, this court is more than willing to provide you with a counselling service if that's what you need." Judge Lake said.

"I'm not talking to a shrink." Finn muttered in reply. "Fuck this. I'm out of here."

Finn stood up and walked out of the courtroom, ignoring the judge who was calling him back so they could officially end the trial. Finn needed to get out of there. He needed some air. Bursting out of the courthouse, he walked out into the car park and got into his car. It was there when he truly broke down. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he put his face in his hands. His whole life since the beginning of September had been a lie. He had been manipulated, he had been played, and all for the benefit of one Quinn Fabray. He wanted to kill her. He wanted to grab her by the neck and watch as the life slowly drained out of her. In fact, Finn was kind of glad Quinn had a baby on the way because that was probably the only thing stopping him from doing so. Suddenly, the car door opened and Sarah slid into the front seat next to him.

"Sarah, please, can I have a minute alone?" He asked. Sarah shook her head.

"No, I want to show you something. Something that proves that you have changed, for the better, the past few months and that this experience won't change that."

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"What?" He murmured, quietly. Sarah stepped out of the car.

"Follow me." She said. Finn got out too and watched as she opened the trunk of the car and pulled out a sledgehammer and a baseball bat. Finn's eyes widened.

"Um… Sarah? Are you going to kill me?" Finn asked, nervously. Sarah shook her head and handed him the sledgehammer.

"Do you see that car?" She asked, pointing to a BMW three cars down. Finn's eyes widened.

"Yeah, that's Quinn's car." He commented. "So what?"

"So, destroy it." Sarah said, bluntly. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Um… what?" He asked.

"Destroy it." Sarah said, yet again. "I gave you a sledge hammer. I'll give you the baseball bat too if you like. Go right ahead. Smash the windows. Do whatever you want."

"Sarah, I'm not going to do that." Finn murmured quietly.

"Why not? The old Finn would've." Sarah remarked. Finn shook his head furiously.

"I'm not going to do that, Sarah!" Finn snapped. Sarah smiled slightly.

"See! You've changed, whether you want to see it or not. Look, I'm not denying that you're going to be hurting. But you're still a good person. You still have a conscience. You still know where to draw the line."

Finn nodded.

"I guess. Thanks, Sarah."


	11. Chapter 11

However, despite Sarah's words and observations, Finn's mental state steadily deteriorated. His old hellish loop had come back into action. Go out every night, DRINK himself until he could barely walk, get into numerous bar fights, go home at the early hours of dawn, B.S his way through school and Glee, repeat. Glee had gotten so much worse as well. Because the whole Glee club had sided with Finn during the ordeal, Quinn and Puck had gotten the cold shoulder from most of the group. The only reason why the two hadn't quit the club completely due to the frigid environment was because they didn't have enough true friends in the whole school that would accept them.

Finn stumbled into Glee rehearsal on the Monday morning before Sectionals, shades over his eyes to attempt to disguise his hangover. However, he wasn't fooling anyone. He groaned in pain as Rachel started jabbering needlessly in her high pitched voice. Eventually, after almost 20 minutes of Rachel blabbering on about why she should be soloing at Sectionals over Mercedes, Finn slapped his hand on the table in frustration, wincing in pain at the sound of the BANG!

"Oh my God! Will you please SHUUUT UUUUP!" Finn bellowed. Everyone gasped, but they were all extremely amused at the situation and also relieved that Rachel had been rendered speechless.

"Pardon me?" She screeched.

"I think you heard me." Finn remarked.

"Look, unlike you who is literally a boozer who doesn't give a crap about Glee club, I need this for my college application. So forgive me for caring!" She snarled. Finn raised his hands in surrender.

"Look, when I joined this stupid club in the first place, Mr. Schue told me that 'Glee club is about having fun through music.' A show of hands, please… how many of you are actually enjoying listening to Rachel talk because I can tell you I'm not, even with a flask in my pocket?!"

Nobody raised their hand. Finn gestured to the group.

"See? Look, call me crazy, but I don't need to be sober to know that nobody is appreciating you endlessly complain about a competition which, by the way, you aren't even soloing in!"

Rachel scowled and stormed out of the room. Once she was out of the room, everyone cheered. Rachel really was such a buzz kill! Even Mr. Schue smiled.

"Wow, thanks for that, Finn. But I have to ask, do you actually have a flask in your pocket?" He asked. Finn shrugged.

"I am not confirming nor denying a thing." Finn replied. Mr. Schue replied.

"Look, I can see something in your breast pocket, so I'm going to have to confiscate that from you." He said. "Don't worry… I won't write you up for it."

Finn shrugged and took out his flask. He took a swig from it.

"I know you won't. I also know that you're not touching my flask." Finn commented, putting it in his pocket. Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you so sure?" He asked.

"Well, I'm not going to hand it over voluntarily and if you lay a finger on me, I report you for groping a student. And trust me, I can put on a good poker face. You know what? It's late. I think I'm going to go." Finn said, standing up. Everyone raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, it's 8 in the morning." Mike remarked. Finn nodded.

"Exactly. School starts in half an hour and I don't want to be caught lingering and end up having to go to class. Peace out." Finn said, walking out of the room. Everyone exchanged worried looks at each other.

"Is he going to be okay?" Artie asked. Mr. Schue shook his head.

"Honestly, no he isn't. He has PTSD." Mr. Schue remarked. "But he doesn't want to admit it and get help, so he is just going to keep getting worse. Emotional pain will soon not be enough so he'll resort to physical pain. Until one day…"

"One day what?" Santana asked, although everyone knew what Mr. Schue was implying.

"I think you know." Mr. Schue mumbled, staring at the doorway where Finn had been moments before. That man needed some serious help, but none of them were in the position to help him.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Finn had blown off the whole school day for the fifth time in the past few days, and instead, went to the shadiest bar in Lima for a bit of day drinking. On his way, he decided to cut through an alley to save time but suddenly, a dark shadow enveloped the alley and moments later, he heard the sounds of motorcycle engines roaring towards him. 7 bikers stopped on the entrance/exit of the alley, leaving no way for Finn to get away. It was a dead end. Finn decided to just embrace the situation and he walked towards them.

"What do you want?" Finn snapped. Without warning, one of the bikers sent a vicious hook to the side of Finn's temple, sending the teenager stumbling backwards. Another one of the bikers grabbed him and held him as a third kneed him to the solar plexus, knocking the stuffing out of him and causing him to collapse on the group. Now Finn was an incredible fighter, but even he had his limits. There was no way he would be able to take on 7 colossal, muscular guys. While he was on the ground, he lay prone as the men kicked the absolute crap out of him. At one point, one of the bikers held his arms back while another put on brass knuckles and beat him up with those. Finn was in a world of pain, but extremely weirdly, he was enjoying it. He felt like he deserved every single blow that came his way, and that each jab, hook or uppercut took him one step closer to where he wanted to be… death. That's right: Finn Hudson wanted to die. He had realised that his life on Earth was even worse than any hell in the afterlife. Finn chuckled and laughed as the men hit him. Suddenly, one of the men pulled out a pistol and held it a meter away from Finn's temple.

"Do me a favour?" Finn said, coughing and wheezing blood.

"What?" The man gruffly snapped. Finn suddenly tugged the gun, not away from his head, but towards him so the barrel pressed hard against his temple.

"Don't miss." Finn whispered, clearly, and then he started to laugh maniacally. He probably looked like the Joker, lying on the ground, keeping a gun pressed to his head, but rather than shitting his pants in fear, he was laughing. He started giggling uncontrollably as the blood dribbled down his mouth and all over the small pool beneath him. Unfortunately, rather than pulling the trigger, the bikers let go of him and all rode away.

"You're fucking crazy, you know?" The guy with the gun said, before riding off on his motorcycle. Finn just lay there and let the darkness overtake him…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

When Finn finally awoke from his unconsciousness, his first thought was… where the hell am I? Then, the events that unfolded earlier all came rushing back. Finn audibly cried out in pain as he managed to sit up. He patted his pockets and realised that everything was gone: his wallet, phone, car keys, everything. That was expected, given what happened. The only thing not taken was the discreet, practically invisible gold chain around his neck, which was connected to a small locket. He opened the locket and pictures of Neve and Sarah slipped out. He looked at them.

The next thought Finn had was… what the hell was I thinking? How could he want to die, when there was so much left to do? When he still had people he cared about? How could he let Neve and Sarah grow up in a world without him? After all, who would be the overprotective one who will bully and interrogate all of Sarah and Neve's boyfriends? Who would be the one to teach them how to drive? The one to buy them their first drink - most likely underaged? Finn wanted to be there for all of those moments.

Forcing himself to stand up, Finn gasped in pain as he felt a large gash on the side of his face, severe bruising on his ribs, and his injured back hurt like hell! Somehow, Finn managed to stumble home without collapsing, the sudden movement causing blood to start leaking out of him again. Eventually, Finn made it to the house and he unlocked the door and walked inside.

It was 8 pm in the evening, and his whole family were at home, worrying about him. He hadn't come home from school that day and nobody, not even Neve, could get in contact with him. When Finn stumbled inside, Carole, without even looking at him, started shouting.

"Finn Christopher Hudson! Where the hell have you been? Your sisters and I have been worried sick about you, and Principal Figgins said that you left Glee early and didn't attend any of your classes. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"M...m… mom." Finn stuttered before collapsing on the ground, unable to stand up from the pain. Carole finally spun around to face him and her eyes widened when she saw him covered in blood, lying on the hardwood floor.

"Finn!" She shouted, before running over to him. The girls, who were sitting in the living room, stood up and when they saw him, sprinted over too.

"Finn, what the hell happened?" Carole asked.

"Biker gang. Jumped me. Alley." Finn managed to stutter out.

"Oh my God! Do you need an ambulance?" Sarah asked, terrified at the sight of her brother. Although Finn's wounds really weren't that deep and wouldn't even need stitches, it looked a lot worse than it was due to the blood soaking into his beige jacket. Finn shook his head.

"No, I don't. But could you please get me a towel? And Neve, could you get me an ice pack from the freezer?"

Both girls sprinted away to go and fetch what he needed. Once they were out of earshot, Finn turned to Carole.

"Mom… I need help." Finn stammered, tears in his eyes.

"Do you want me to call the ambulance?" Carole asked, panicking. Finn shook his head.

"No. I need help… with my head. Those guys… when they were punching me, I was laughing and smiling. I relished in every single blow. I wanted them to kill me. I wanted to die." Finn whispered. Tears sprung to Carole's eyes. Finn rarely ever showed emotion - he normally buried it deep inside, but for him to be begging for help… Carole could see how much raw pain he was in.

"Well, what do you need? That 25 thousand dollars is partly meant for emotional repair for this very reason."

"I think I need to talk to someone." Finn said. "A professional. Someone who knows what I'm feeling."

Carole nodded.

"Yeah, I'll set up an appointment right away."

Finn finally groaned and managed to relax his muscles, causing him to feel even more pain. He was vaguely aware of his family treating the various wounds on his face and chest, before he passed out once again on the cool, hardwood floor.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day, Finn had had his first therapy session with a psychiatrist. Despite his belief that therapy was bullshit, it actually helped him. The doctor started by helping him understand how he was feeling, and then the next step was teaching him a few coping mechanisms to deal with the depression he was feeling. He was told, when he was feeling low, to try to talk to or call people he cared about. If that failed, then even looking at pictures would help him. The second thing the doctor told him to do was to get moving and get some sunlight. In addition, Finn was also prescribed some mild antidepressants to take daily. To top it off, Finn had gone completely sober, which technically he should've been the whole time as an underage drinker.

When Finn walked into Glee the next week, he felt like a new man. He walked into the choir room and stood at the front of the room.

"Um… listen up, guys." Finn said. "I wanted to apologise to anything I might have done or said to offend you in the past two weeks. I was not in a good place at all because, well… you know, and it took me almost being beaten to death by a gang to realise that I needed help. So I'm sober now, and I am working with a psychiatrist to help overcome my issues."

Everyone clapped and a couple of people gave Finn a hug.

"That's awesome, Finn." Mr. Schue said. Finn nodded.

"Thanks, Mr. Schue." Finn replied. "I learnt to not let the actions of others affect my life. I need to focus on myself and my well-being for the next little while. And Sectionals. We should probably focus on Sectionals, given that they are in two weeks and we are not prepared at all." Finn remarked. Everyone laughed.

"Hell yeah!" Artie exclaimed. The group all got to work on their Sectionals. Although they had decided a set list already, they had not rehearsed at all. It was senior year and all of those who had been in Glee club since Sophomore year, desperately wanted to win in their senior year. Last year, they came runner up at Regionals, so they weren't even close to winning. However, last year, they didn't have a strong male lead named Finn. They had decided that Mercedes would be opening the show, singing And I'm Telling You, followed by singing Some Nights as a group.

A very peculiar thing happened towards the end of rehearsal though. A National Show Choir official walked into the choir room.

"Mr. William Schuester?" He asked. Mr. Schue walked over to him and held out a hand. The two men shook hands.

"At your service. Can I help you with something?" Mr. Schue asked him. The man gave Mr. Schue and envelope, and he opened it and read aloud.

_Dear Mr. Schuester,_

_It has come to our attention that one of the members - Mr. Finn Hudson - was forced, against his will, to join the McKinley High Show Choir. This violates Article 1 section 5 of the National Show Choir Rule Book which clearly states that joining a school's show choir is strictly optional, and forcing a student to join is illegal. This action is a punishable offence and therefore, Mr. Hudson must be excluded from participation in the upcoming Sectional, as well as all future competitions._

_Consider this a warning. Any further infractions will result in your whole team being disqualified from the competition._

_Our sincerest regrets,_

_The National Show Choir Committee_

Everyone was speechless. Nobody knew what to see. The roaring inferno that had been their Sectionals preparation had just been doused by frigid, icy water. Eventually, Finn stood up and faced the group.

"OK, guys. Look… in a normal circumstance, I would be more than happy to step down. I was last here, so I should be first out the door. But the problem is that being in Glee was one of the conditions of not being expelled from school, and if I'm expelled from one more school, my mom said she's going to kick me out of the house. I know how much this competition means to you guys, but I'm not quitting if it means that I would never see my family again."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, you're not, Finn." Mr. Schue said. "Because I'm the one stepping down for Sectionals." Mr. Schue said. "It was me who told Figgins that we needed another member for the New Directions, and that's why Figgins forced you to join the Glee club. Truth be told, the normal punishment for what you did would just be detentions for like two weeks, but when I found out that Matt wasn't coming back and we needed a member, I decided to be a little… creative."

"You mean you blackmailed me?" Finn asked, disbelievingly. Mr. Schue nodded.

"It was my decision, so it's my punishment. I'm not joining you guys for Sectionals. I'm sorry."

"This can't be happening!" Artie cried and put his head in his hands.

"It's without me or not at all. Look, I was the one who slept on the mattress, which means I accepted them, not you. Which means I'm disqualified from competition, not you." Mr. Schue said, reluctantly.

"You're taking the bullet for me. Mr. Schue, I don't know what to say." Finn said.

"We have worked too hard for you guys not to get your shot." Mr. Schue stated.

"We can't do this without you, Mr. Shue. Hell, we probably can't do it with you." Mike said.

"That's not true. You guys are good. You're really good. You did "Jump" for that commercial without me last year, right? Look, the best teachers don't give you the answers. They just point the way and let you make your own choices. Your own mistakes. That way you get all the glory. And you deserve it. Look, if… If you can't win without me there, then I haven't done my job."

Nobody spoke.

"Mr. Schue, we…" Puck started but was cut off when Mr. Schue raised a hand.

"Puck, please… I don't want to hear it. Right now, all I want to hear is you rehearsing your asses off for Sectionals. I'll find you guys an interim director by next rehearsal and I…"

Rachel suddenly stood up and raised a hand.

"Mr. Schue, I would be honored to be interim director. My worry is that I'll do such a good job that I'm kept as permanent…"

"Mr. Schue! NO! PLEASE!" Everyone interrupted and begged. They would rather have no leader than have Rachel boss them around. Rachel scowled and sat down. Mr. Schue laughed.

"Sorry, Rachel. I can assure you guys that I will find a qualified adult to take you guys to Sectionals in my place. Look, why don't you take the rest of the day off. Next rehearsal's tomorrow afternoon. All of you gotta be there. I'll have the replacement hopefully by tomorrow."

Everyone got up and began to leave. Finn stood up to join them but before he left, he put a hand on Quinn's shoulder. She turned around and her face paled when she faced him.

"Hey, hang back a second, okay?" Finn asked. Quinn nervously nodded and soon, the two of them were the only ones left in the choir room.

"Finn, there are no words in the universe that can describe how cruel I was to you, and there are no words to describe how bad I feel about it." Quinn started. "I…"

"Quinn, it's okay." Finn said, quietly. Quinn's eyes widened.

"Um… what?" She asked. Finn sighed.

"Look, my therapist said that forgiveness is the first step to moving on, and I need 'closure' on the whole situation."

"What does that mean?" Quinn asked. Finn sighed.

"I… have no idea." He admitted and Quinn giggled. "But the doctor said I needed it. She said that everything ended so fast that I needed to be able to move on, and for that, I need closure."

"So what do you need to do?" Quinn asked. "You can shout at me if you want. God knows I deserve it."

Finn shook his head.

"I'm not going to do that, Quinn." He replied. "But I wanted to ask you something… why? Why me? You've known Puck your whole life but at that point, you had known me for less than a month."

Quinn looked down in shame.

"I guess… because I knew Puck so well, I knew how ill-prepared he was to be a father. He has no plans for the future."

"I have no plans for the future." Finn butted in. Quinn nodded.

"His dad walked out on his family, leaving massive holes in his family."

"And I don't suppose me and my sister's births were immaculate conceptions. My dad walked out on us. It may have been much later than Puck's, but it still happened and it was arguably worse given that we were a lot older."

"But most of all…" Quinn continued. "Puck is the most disrespectful person towards women that I've ever met. You grew up in a house full of women and I don't have to know you well to know how much you love your sisters."

"Then… if you don't mind my asking… why did you sleep with him in the first place?" Finn asked. Quinn sighed.

"Honestly… it was literally just I felt fat that day, I didn't have a boyfriend or anyone there for me. He was there, and for some reason, he was actually charming. I fell for his trap and I've regretted it ever since."

"So do you not want to be a mother?" Finn asked. Quinn shook her head.

"Don't get me wrong… I'm so excited to become a mother. But if it were up to me, none of this would've happened."

Finn nodded.

"I understand that. And look… I'm sorry for all the added stress I put you through with the trial and all. I didn't mean to cause any excess trouble. I just needed to know."

"I get it. And you deserved to know. I'm just sorry it wasn't me who told you."

"That's okay. I forgive you. Well, kinda. It's going to take me a while to truly come to terms with everything. Oh… and I wanted to give you something. A gift to help you take care of the baby" He said, opening his backpack and taking out an envelope. Quinn took it and fumbled with the seal.

"Oh god! I'm scared to open it. Last 'gift' you gave me was a subpoena to take me to court."

Finn laughed.

"Yeah, it's nothing that bad." He said.

Quinn opened it and her eyes widened when she saw what it was. It was a check written to her for the amount of 10 thousand dollars.

"Finn… I can't possibly accept this! Why…"

"I only sued you for 15 in the first place. I only really needed the 8k that I spent back + whatever the cost of therapy 10 thousand that was sued for physical damages is pretty useless because there's nothing I can do to help my back. And truth be told… as a single, teen mom, you could use the money much more than me."

Tears sprung to Quinn's eyes.

"Finn… are you sure?" Quinn stammered. Finn nodded.

"Definitely."

Quinn threw her arms around him.

"Thank you so much!" She exclaimed.

"No problem. And hey… you're going to be a great mom." Finn said, before getting up and walking out of the room. "See you tomorrow, Quinn."

"Bye, Finn. And thank you."

Finn left the room, happy. He felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulder, and he could breathe and move around a fair bit easier because of it. He finally understood what Dr. Martin meant when she said that he needed closure. He felt like he was finally able to move on with his life.


	13. Chapter 13

On the morning of Sectionals, Will and Emma were standing outside the bus. Emma had agreed to be the adult chaperone, as Mr. Schue had been disqualified.

"So, the competition starts at 11:00." Mr. Schuester said.

"Right." Emma replied.

"I'll have my cell phone on." He said.

"I know. You already told me. Three times. And you wrote it down."

"Okay." He said.

"Great." Emma replied. Will sighed and looked down. He knew that his kids definitely had the potential to win Sectionals - hell, they could probably go all the way to Nationals. He just wanted to be with them to share in their triumph if all went well,

Half an hour later, they had arrived at the venue and Ms. Pillsbury had checked in the New Directions at the front desk. She walked over to the kids, who were sitting in the waiting area.

"Okay. So, smooth sailing so far, we're all signed in and, um, according to the program, you have drawn performance slot number three." She said.

"We're going last? Isn't that bad?" Tina asked.

"Hardly." Rachel said. "This is good news. My extensive auditioning for community theater has taught me that we either want to go first or last. If we're first, then everyone has to measure up to us, and if we're last, then we're freshest in the judges' minds."

"And did you ever get any of those parts?" Kurt asked. Rachel scowled at him.

"I'm with Rachel on this." Ms. Pillsbury said. "The glass is definitely half full of some very good things right now."

"Yeah, Ms. Pillsbury's right. I mean, we're here now, right? No reason not to go in with some positive mojo." Mercedes said.

**Thirty minutes later.**

"Some Nights!"

Aural Intensity belted out the last notes of Some Nights, which was preceded by one of their soloists singing And I'm Telling You. The New Directions mouths dropped. Their setlist had clearly been leaked. They went on in an hour and they had nothing to sing.

"MEETING IN THE GREENROOM, NOW!" Rachel shouted over the audience's applause at the end of the song. They all got up and ran to the green room. They were freaking out!

Emma called Will. "We've got a problem. They're doing all of our numbers. The kids are completely freaking out. Artie keeps ramming himself into the wall, and I'm pretty sure Rachel is about to kill herself."

"I knew it!" Will shouted over the phone. "Sue leaked the set list! She was probably the one who ratted me out to the Show Choir Committee, too!"

"Will… Will, what do we do?" Emma asked. Will sighed and put his head in his hands.

"I… I don't know. And even if I did, I couldn't risk helping and getting the whole group disqualified. I'm sorry, Emma. This is their pit to dig themselves out of. Please tell them that I believe in them, and I know they can win."

"Okay." She said, and hung up the phone. Will stormed out of the choir room and saw Coach Sylvester walking down the hall.

"Sue! What kind of teacher are you?" He yelled. She turned around.

"Hey, buddy! I just came by to feed my Venus Flytrap." She smirked.

"You leaked the set list! And you are not going to get away with it!"

"That is a libelous accusation, and I insist you retract it immediately. You have no proof."

"No proof? You are the only person who had the list!"

"But, other than that, you have no proof. It's time to face facts, William at 1 P.M. this afternoon, your little club will have had its shot at the big time, and they will have failed. Glee club will be canceled, and all that money Figgins has been funneling into your budget will finally and rightfully be restored to mine."

You have crossed the line. I am not going to sit idly by anymore. I am going to expose you for the fraud that you have become."

"Bring it on, William. I'm reasonably confident that you will be adding revenge to the long list of things you're no good at. Right next to being married…"

"Don't." He growled.

"Running a high school glee club, and finding a hairstyle that doesn't make you look like a lesbian. Love ya like a sista." She ruffled his hair and he slapped her hands away.

"Get your hands off me." He snarled menacingly.

"You're not going to push a woman, are you? I didn't think so." She still smirked widely. Mr. Schuester stalked off and all he could do was sit in his office and pray for a good result. They were in God's hands now.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Who did this? Who leaked our setlist?" Mercedes demanded.

"Well let's think about it. Someone who has a huge grudge against two people in the club and has nothing to lose." Kurt remarked, sarcastically. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"You talking about me, bud?" Finn asked. "Why would I do that? First of all, I'm not that pissed at Quinn and Puck anymore. Secondly, and more importantly, I need Glee club to stay in school. I have more to lose than anyone in this room."

"Debatable, but whatever. OK, then who could it be?" Kurt asked.

"I did it." A voice came from the corner of the room. They all turned to see Brittany cowering in the corner of the room, her face red. "Coach Sylvester asked for the setlist and I didn't know what she was going to use it for so I gave it to her." She said, looking down.

"How could you be so stupid, Brittany?" Kurt shouted.

"Hey, Lady Hummel. Back off! You're not so perfect yourself!" Santana quickly defended her best friend.

"Guys, we don't have time to waste blaming each other. We need a leader. Like now! Mr. Shue was disqualified from coming." Artie said, playing peacekeeper within the group. Everyone looked towards Rachel, expecting her to instantly lead her. Then, they remembered…

The day before, Rachel had gotten pretty sick. She had practically lost her voice at the worst possible time and although she was well enough to be a background singer, she was definitely not in any shape to lead them or solo. Everyone then turned to Finn. Finn, who wasn't really paying attention, noticed everyone looking at him and he snapped to attention.

"What's up? Why is everyone looking at me? Do I have stuff in my teeth?" He asked, running his tongue around his mouth to check. Everyone rolled their eyes.

"No, you dumbass. You need to step up and lead us." Puck said. Finn's eyes widened.

"Um… what?" He asked, dumbfounded. "Why?"

"Because you're the best singer here, and you're also the best person with dealing with high pressure situations calmly. Didn't you car race for like 9 years?"

Finn thought for a moment.

"Are you guys sure? I mean, you've all been here a hell of a lot longer than I have." Finn argued.

"Exactly! That's our point!" Tina said. "You're the only one not close enough to this that you're able to see the whole picture. Now will you lead us or not?"

Finn sighed and nodded.

"OK, fine. Let's do it. So what's the plan so far? First of all, does anyone have an opening solo prepared or should I do it?" Finn asked. Being a former car racer, if nothing else, taught him that every second counted.

"Well, we're kind of in a bind because we don't have enough time for our backup band to learn another song." Santana said. "Whoever solos will need to accompany themselves. That eliminates most of us, and you're the best person we've got for that, Finn. So you do it."

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously? We've gone from me sitting quietly in the back to me soloing and leading the group! How the hell did that happen?" Finn asked.

"Look, just roll with the punches, okay?" Quinn said. "None of us will judge you if you screw up because none of us could do a better job. Do you have a song in mind?"

Finn nodded.

"Yeah, I do but I need an acoustic guitar. Did anyone happen to bring one?" Finn asked. Puck nodded and handed him his guitar.

"Here, use mine." Puck said. Finn nodded at him.

"Okay, we've got the solo down, now for the group number…" Finn said. "I have an idea. Look, our choreography is going to be choppy, but all we can do now is sing our hearts out. Mike, Santana, Matt, Britney, you're our best dancers. Try and come up with some choreography to go along with the song. The rest of us gotta practise singing."

Finn turned around and began to walk to the corner of the room to practise his solo. They spent the next half hour rehearsing, before they were called backstage. They were all extremely nervous, and Finn gave them a final pep talk.

"Look guys, this is not going to be perfect. We're not the team with the biggest budget, or the team with the most people. But we do have the most heart. We're not just competing in the competition, we're fighting to keep New Directions alive. We're all seniors so we've got just this year left. We're already battling against pretty crappy odds so all we can do now is sing our best, and pray to god we have sympathetic judges. Hands in everyone. New Directions on three. One. Two. Three."

"NEW DIRECTIONS!" They all shouted and separated. New Directions were announced and they all wished Finn luck for his solo. They had no idea what he was about to sing, but they trusted him. He immediately noticed Ms. Pillsbury in the audience as he walked to the microphone center stage, gripping the acoustic guitar in his hands. He started strumming the guitar and began singing…

_You're just too good to be true can't take my eyes off of you_

_You'd be like heaven to touch I wanna hold you so much_

_And long last love has arrived and I thank God I'm alive_

_You're just too good to be true can't take my eyes off of you_

_Pardon the way that I stare is nothing else to compare_

_The sign of you usually weak there are no words left to speak_

_But if you feel like I feel please let me know that it's real_

_You're just too good to be true can't take my eyes off of you_

"Damn, he's really good!" Tina exclaimed from backstage. None of them had ever seen Finn perform this stripped back of a performance. Normally, they had a whole backup band but this time, it was just Finn and his guitar. He was absolutely killing it. His song was cheeky and flirtatious, but in a good way.

_I love you baby and if it's quite all right_

_I need you baby to warm your lonely night_

_I love you baby trust in me when I say_

_Oh pretty baby don't bring me down I pray_

_Oh pretty baby come on and find you stay_

_And let me love you baby let me love you_

_You're just too good to be true..._

_Can't take my eyes off of you can't take my eyes off of you_

_You're just too good to be true can't take my eyes off of you_

_You'd be like heaven to touch I wanna hold you so much_

_And long last love has arrived and I thank God I'm alive_

_You're just too good to be true can't take my eyes off of you_

_I love you baby and if it's quite all right_

_I need you baby to warm your lonely night_

_I love you baby trust in me when I say_

_Oh pretty baby don't bring me down I pray_

_Oh pretty baby come on and find you stay_

_And let me love you baby let me love you_

_Oh give you baby trust to me what I said_

_I need you baby to warm your lonely night_

_Oh pretty baby come on and find you stay_

_And let me love you baby let me love you_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=JUeEcdS-aa0 &ab_channel=TheXFactorUK**

**Or search… "Can't Take My Eyes Off You James Arthur"**

By the final chorus, the audience were clapping and cheering loudly. Finn had absolutely destroyed the song, and he gave the Glee club a great starting point in a Sectional that they were already predicted to lose. After the song, the rest of the Glee club approached the stage and they began to sing the next song…

**Finn:**

_Give me a second I_

_I need to get my story straight_

_My friends are in the bathroom getting higher than the Empire State_

_My lover she's waiting for me just across the bar_

_My seat's been taken by some sunglasses asking 'bout a scar, and_

**Artie:**

_I know I gave it to you months ago_

_I know you're trying to forget_

_But between the drinks and subtle things_

_The holes in my apologies, you know_

_I'm trying hard to take it back_

**Quinn and Santana:**

_So if by the time the bar closes_

_And you feel like falling down_

_I'll carry you home_

**All:**

_Tonight_

_We are young_

_So let's set the world on fire_

_We can burn brighter than the sun_

_Tonight_

_We are young_

_So let's set the world on fire_

_We can burn brighter than the sun_

**Puck and Sam:**

_Now I know that I'm not_

_All that you got_

_I guess that I, I just thought_

_Maybe we could find new ways to fall apart_

**Mercedes:**

_But our friends are back_

_So let's raise a toast_

_'Cause I found someone to carry me home_

**All:**

_Tonight_

_We are young_

_So let's set the world on fire_

_We can burn brighter than the sun_

_Tonight_

_We are young_

_So let's set the world on fire_

_We can burn brighter than the sun_

_Carry me home tonight (Nananananana)_

_Just carry me home tonight (Nananananana)_

_Carry me home tonight (Nananananana)_

_Just carry me home tonight (Nananananana)_

_The moon is on my side (Nananananana)_

_I have no reason to run (Nananananana)_

_So will someone come and carry me home tonight (Nananananana)_

_The angels never arrived (Nananananana)_

_But I can hear the choir (Nananananana)_

_So will someone come and carry me home (Nananananana)_

_Tonight_

_We are young_

_So let's set the world on fire_

_We can burn brighter than the sun_

_Tonight_

_We are young_

_So let's set the world on fire_

_We can burn brighter than the sun_

_So if by the time the bar closes_

_And you feel like falling down_

_I'll carry you home tonight_

They had truly made the best of a bad situation and had turned the tables on the rest of their competition. They were suddenly the favourites to win. Sure enough, New Directions were announced as the Ohio Sectional Champions.


	14. Chapter 14

The next day was filled with celebrations with the New Directions. They were headed for Toledo for Regionals in just over three months! And that wasn't all they were celebrating. Christmas was right around the corner and they wanted to celebrate. The Glee club were in the choir room, putting up and decorating a gorgeous fern Christmas tree and singing goofy Christmas songs when Mr. Schue walked into the room.

"Hey guys, what's this?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Oh, we're trying to get into the Christmas spirit, Mr. Schue." Brittany replied.

"Well, that looks beautiful." He commented, admiring their Christmas tree. "Wait, where did you get a tree from?"

"Sam and I picked one up for us last night." Finn explained. "I'm working at the Christmas tree farm over the holiday so we got this tree practically free."

"Why are you working at the Christmas tree farm?" Rachel asked, incredulously.

"Well I kinda need the money." Finn said. "And it's pretty fun. All I do is lug Christmas trees around all day and sing random christmas songs."

"And where did you get the ornaments from?" Mr. Schue asked, confused.

"The guy who lives next door finally killed off his elderly mother, and when they carted him off, they left the house wide open, so…" Santana said. Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… and the presents?" He asked, pointing to a couple of wrapped presents that were under the tree.

"I lifted them from a display at the mall. But don't worry. They're empty." Puck said.

"Look guys, I appreciate the effort, but this isn't what Christmas is supposed to be like." Mr. Schue said.

"For us, it is. This tree is like a mascot for Glee club. We won Sectionals two years in a row, and according to everyone at this school, all of us still suck." Mercedes complained. Mr. Schue shook his head furiously.

"No, no. I am not gonna let you guys throw yourselves a pity party. Look, I'm the first one to say that things haven't turned out exactly how I would have liked them to this year, but Christmas is all about being grateful for the things that did."

"I thought that was Thanksgiving." Artie remarked.

"And this year…" Mr. Schue continued, ignoring the remark. "Glee club is going to lend a hand to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth program right here in Lima."

"How are we going to do that?" Rachel asked.

"The only way we know how - by singing about it!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. "We're going to go classroom to classroom, carolling to raise money for McKinney-Vento."

"Wait classrooms in this school? With like, students in them?" Tina asked in disbelief.

"Well, if there are no students in them, there will be no one to put money in the collection box while we sing." Mr. Schue said, matter-of-factly.

"We're gonna get killed." Quinn grumbled.

"No, guys, it's Christmas…a time for miracles. We gotta try this," said Finn, taking the leadership role of the group.

"Finn's right. So, let's start rehearsing. This year, Glee club's going full Santa," said Mr. Schuester, his voice full of enthusiasm.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The Glee boys and girls went to their first class, all decked out in matching, cheerful, Christmas themed outfits.

Mercedes started them off.

_Haul out the holly_

_Put up the tree before_

_My spirit falls again!_

_Fill up the stocking;_

_I may be rushing things, but_

_Deck the halls again now…_

As Mercedes held out the word 'Now', a girl screamed from the back of the class.

"You suck!"

"Who goes caroling with a band?" Someone else shouted.

"I'd seriously rather be learning." Another person said. The Glee club ignored them and forced themselves to keep singing.

_For we need a little Christmas_

"You're making me hate Christmas!" A guy shouted.

_Right this very minute,_

_Candles in the wind…_

At that line, someone threw a shoe at the group.

The Glee club ceased their performance and ran to the door through jeers of, "You suck!" and, "I hate you!"

"Go, go, go!" said Finn, getting the group through the door.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The group was eating popcorn, recuperating from their traumatic experience.

"I can't believe that that teacher let those students speak to us like that," said Rachel indignantly.

"I can't believe she threw her shoe at us," said Puck.

"I guess we're done caroling," added Tina sarcastically.

There was a pause.

"No, we're not, guys. We can't let what just happened ruin our Christmas spirit. Mr. Schue got us this beautiful tree to inspire us. We're gonna practice now, and gear up for round two tomorrow," he said with finality. He then walked out of the room.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

**5 days later…**

"So what are we looking for again?" Finn asked. Finn and Neve had just entered the Christmas tree farm and were looking for a Christmas tree for their house. It was the 21st of December - 4 days till Christmas - and their house looked pretty empty with all of the decorations but no tree.

"We need a huge tree." Neve said. "A Fir one. One that has that amazing Christmas tree smell. That's the best part of having a tree, isn't it? Making the house smell like Christmas?"

Finn laughed and put his arm around his sister.

"I have taught you well, young padawan." Finn joked. Neve rolled her eyes.

"You're such a nerd!" She exclaimed. Finn chuckled.

"I'm a nerd? Really? This coming from the girl who is literally more mature and probably smarter than I am, despite the fact that I'm ten years older." Finn remarked.

"That's really not a very impressive feat. It isn't that hard." She joked. Finn pushed her into the neighbouring tree. She giggled and got up and ran back to him.

"At least I'm still stronger than you." Finn pointed out. Neve rolled her eyes and clapped her hands.

"Wow, big achievement!" She replied.

"Hey, it's still something." Finn said. Neve took a deep breath.

"Um… Finn? Can I ask you something?" She said in a completely different tone. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, what's up? The way you just asked is making me nervous." Finn said.

"Finn, what are you doing next year? Are you going to college?" She asked. Finn shrugged.

"I don't know. I haven't thought that far. Why?"

"It's just… I'm pretty sure any self respecting college's deadline has already passed. So what are you doing?" She asked again. Finn sighed and sat down under one of the trees. Neve sat down next to him.

"I… I honestly don't know. We don't have enough money for me to make it out unless I get a scholarship but I always thought that my way out would be car racing. Guess that's not happening now. I really haven't considered anything else." Finn mumbled. Neve took her hand in his.

"Don't worry. You'll find something. I know you will. Have you considered maybe trying to get a scholarship through music? You're a really good singer, and a decent guitarist too. Maybe you can use that gift to get yourself a scholarship."

Finn laughed and sighed.

"You know, I feel like it just isn't meant to be. The stars just didn't align. I got injured ONE YEAR before I'm due to leave for college. Maybe if I was injured earlier, I would have discovered music sooner and I would have had time to use it to get into college. It's too late now. The only thing I could possibly put on an application is our Sectionals win, but I don't think that's going to go down too well compared to people like Rachel, who has been performing her whole life."

"So what comes next?"Neve asked. Finn put his head in his hands and broke down.

"I don't know, Neve. I really don't know." Finn whispered, quietly. "It's like you said… it's too late for any decent colleges to accept me. I have very few options. I can A, not go to college at all and hope that I can somehow get a dead-end, meaningless job. Or B, go to a shitty community college and have much less money to spend on actual college."

Neve gave him a hug.

"Neither of them are great options, huh?" She remarked. Finn chuckled, drily.

"Yeah, no kidding." Finn replied.

"But I know that if anyone can beat the odds and make something of themself, it's you, Finn." She continued. "You're the most resourceful guy I know. In times when success seems impossible, you're there to put the impossibility in its place. You kick it right in the ass. You're going to do great things in this world, whether it's next year, 5 years from now, ten years from now, or even 20 years from now."

Finn smiled.

"Thanks, Neve. When did you get so smart?" He asked as they both stood up. "You know, you're literally the best person in the family to talk to."

Neve laughed.

"What can I say? I should be a therapist, with the amount I listen to you complain and bitch about anything. At least as a therapist, I'd get paid for it."

Finn chuckled.

"Haha. Now, let's get a tree. We need to find one before mom sends out a search party looking for us."

Neve giggled. Half an hour later, Finn was lugging a fresh tree off the roof of his car and into their house. Their family spent the next couple of hours singing goofy christmas songs and decorating their tree with copious amounts of tinsel, ornaments and baubles. After they had finished, they all went their separate ways. As Neve walked upstairs to her room, she walked past Finn's room and what she saw made her heart stop…

Finn was sitting on his bed, looking at old pictures of him in different racing competitions, and he was crying. Neve's heart shattered for him. Her brother always felt like he had to be strong for everyone, and therefore he tended to suppress his emotion. But Neve could see that he was hurting. BAD. More than she could have ever imagined. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like to one day having everything he could possibly want - his education in one of the richest, most desirable cities in the world; greatness in his future all but confirmed - only to have it suddenly ripped away in a matter of seconds. And to make it worse, it was too late for him to pick up a hobby at the level required for colleges to take note of it. Luckily, Neve had a plan and it was all but complete….


	15. Chapter 15

"GET UP! GET UP! GET UP!"

Finn felt Neve banging on his door. Christmas Day was finally upon them and Neve, just like every 8 year old in the world, was extremely excited to get the day started and receive her gifts. Or so he thought. In reality, she was bouncing around in anticipation of giving Finn her gift to him. When Finn didn't respond to Neve's shouts, he vaguely heard her barge into the room and start hitting the foot of his bed. Finn groaned into his pillow.

"Go away." Finn weakly mumbled into his pillow. Neve started shoving his arm.

"Come on! It's Christmas! Get your ass out of bed!" She shouted. Finn slowly opened his eyes and rolled out of bed. He gave Neve a hug before scrambling over to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. After that, still in their pajamas, Neve and Finn walked downstairs where they were quickly joined by Carole and Sarah. Carole and Sarah had an extremely close relationship because after Finn left for his education in Dubai, Sarah was her oldest sibling and her oldest daughter and even when he came back, he was practically an adult so didn't need her for much. But thankfully, Neve never felt excluded because she had just as special of a relationship, if not a more special one, with Finn.

"Morning." Finn said to Carole and Sarah, yawning as he entered the room. He gave his sister and his mom a hug. "Merry Christmas, guys."

"Merry Christmas, sweetie." His mom replied, kissing him on the cheek. They all sat in the living room - Sarah and Carole on the couch and Finn and Neve on the floor by the presents - and they began to hand out their gifts to each other. Finn had gotten each of them a couple of small gifts and one large gift for each member of his family. He didn't have much money so he went for meaningful gifts rather than expensive ones. He picked the first gift from under the tree and handed it over. It was his gift to Sarah. He handed it over to her.

"Here, Sarah. This one's for you. Merry Christmas." Finn said. She eagerly took the gift and opened it. She gasped. It was a gorgeous pendant with a gold S dangling from it. Sarah was getting into her solid teen years so she was starting to wear more jewelry.

"Thank you so much, Finn. I love it!" She exclaimed. She was starting high school soon and the pendant was discreet enough not to draw attention so she would be able to wear it to school. Finn smiled.

"No problem. You helped me out so much over the past few months with the Quinn thing, so I wanted to get you something kinda nice as like a thank you."

Finn's next gift to give out was his gift to his mom. This gift took a LOT of effort for him to make, and he had to recruit Mr. Schue to help him with it. In the past four months, he had written five songs himself for his mom and his family, and he decided, as a Christmas gift, to record the songs in a studio and burn them onto a CD. He wanted a particularly meaningful gift for his mom as he knew that he would hopefully be moving out soon and this gift would partly be a thank you for everything she had done for him in the past 18 years. When he gave Carole her gift, tears leaked out of her eyes. It was such a meaningful gift.

"Finn… wow. I don't know what to say. This is beautiful. Can I play a song?"

Finn nodded.

"By all means." Finn replied.

Carole put in the first song…

_I remember when you were all mine_

_Watched you changing in front of my eyes_

_What can I say?_

_Now that I'm not the fire in the cold_

_Now that I'm not the hand that you hold_

_As you're walking away_

_Will you call me to tell me you're alright?_

_'Cause I worry about you the whole night_

_Don't repeat my mistakes_

_I won't sleep 'til you're safe inside_

_If you're home I just hope that you're sober_

_Is it time to let go now you're older?_

_Don't leave me this way_

_I won't sleep 'til you're safe inside_

_Everyone has to find their own way_

_And I'm sure things will work out okay_

_I wish that was the truth_

_All we know is the sun will rise_

_Thank your lucky stars that you're alive_

_It's a beautiful life_

_Will you call me to tell me you're alright?_

_'Cause I worry about you the whole night_

_Don't repeat my mistakes_

_I won't sleep 'til you're safe inside_

_If you're home I just hope that you're sober_

_Is it time to let go now you're older?_

_Don't leave me this way_

_I won't sleep 'til you're safe inside_

_If you make the same mistakes_

_I will love you either way_

_All I know is I can't live without you_

_There is nothing I can say_

_That will change you anyway_

_Darling, I could never live without you_

_I can't live, I can't live_

_Will you call me to tell me you're alright?_

_'Cause I worry about you the whole night_

_Don't make my mistakes_

_I won't sleep, I won't sleep_

_If you're home I just hope that you're sober_

_Is it time to let go now you're older?_

_Don't leave me this way_

_I won't sleep 'til you're safe inside_

_Will you call me to tell me you're alright?_

_'Cause I worry about you_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=kC9-OcV4-eA &ab_channel=JamesAVEVO**

**Or search… "Safe Inside James Arthur Acoustic"**

At the end of the song, Carole gave Finn a big hug. The first song was breathtakingly gorgeous, and the rest were probably up to the same standard.

"Finn, thank you so much. This is, no doubt, the best gift you've ever gotten me. I love you, son."

"Love you too, mom." Finn replied. Sarah then stood up and passed Finn a small envelope.

"Finn, this is from mom and I. We went halfsies on your gift."

Finn smiled and took it, before shaking the envelope.

"Seems pretty light and small for a remote control monster truck." Finn commented, jokingly. His family laughed.

"Haha. Just open your damn gift, Finn." Sarah said. Finn chuckled and opened the envelope. A couple of slips of paper fell out. He picked them up and read them… It was a plane ticket to Austin, a hotel confirmation fee for a four day stay, and the icing on the cake being a ticket to the US Grand Prix from Friday's practice sessions to Sunday's race, an event that took place towards the end of January. Finn gasped when he saw the tickets. Even after he stopped being able to race, he always dreamed about one day attending a real life F1 race. He watched literally every week's race on TV and he couldn't imagine how much more awesome it would be in real life.

"Wow… um… you guys. I don't even know what to say. I feel like I genuinely might cry. This is incredible!" Finn exclaimed, hugging his sister and his mom extremely tightly.

"It was nothing. You're the best brother in the world, and you've been through so much over the past year. You deserve the opportunity to blow off some steam." Sarah said.

Finn smiled widely.

"Thank you so much." Finn replied. Neve clapped her hands together.

"OK, my gift now!" She exclaimed. Finn laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, I've got one for you." Finn replied. "Just give me a second. It's kind of… outside."

Neve raised an eyebrow.

"Ooh… I'm excited for this!" She exclaimed. Finn laughed and walked out of the house and into the back garden. He came back into the living room moments later, holding an adorable Golden Retriever puppy in his hands. Neve gasped in delight as Finn placed the puppy on the ground and it bounded towards her. The dog jumped on her and started lathering the young girl with licks and kisses. Neve giggled as she played with the dog, over the moon, but Carole was less than pleased. She glared at her son.

"Finn! Thank you so much! I love him so much!" Neve exclaimed, giving her brother a hug. Finn smiled and hugged her before noticing the scowl on their mother's face.

"No problem. But now that I think about it, I should have probably asked for mom's permission. Mom? What's your take?" Finn asked. Carole looked like a deer in headlights. On one hand, she knew how much work a dog was but on the other hand, it warmed her heart to see her daughter so happy and affectionate towards the dog that she had met mere seconds ago.

"I… I don't know." Carole said, unsure.

"Come on, mom!" Finn exclaimed. "You know that I'm moving out in a couple of months. Y'all need this!"

"Yeah, mom! We need this!" Neve exclaimed, cuddling the puppy to her chest.

Carole sighed and eventually nodded.

"Ok, fine. Neve, you can keep the dog." She replied. Neve jumped into the air and hugged her mother, before hugging Finn.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She exclaimed. She then picked up the final gift from under the tree - her gift to Finn. Her gift had been the result of months of stress but she was ecstatic with the final product. It was another envelope. Finn took the envelope and grinned at his youngest sibling.

"Hey, what did you get me?" Finn asked. Neve took a deep breath.

"Well, hear me out, okay?" Neve said. "I spent the past month on various platforms of social media, trying to get into contact with dad."

"You what?" Finn asked disbelievingly, traces of anger evident in his voice. He had never forgiven his father for cheating and walking out on his family. He had always provided Neve anything that their father might have and frankly, it was a bit insulting and angering to hear that she called him.

"Just hear me out!" She repeated. "So after a month of scouring Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, pretty much every platform under the sun, I found him and started talking. I told him everything you've been through in the past year and he was shocked, to say the least."

Finn laughed.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Finn remarked. "In the past year I've gotten a career-ending injury, pulled from school abroad, told that my ex was pregnant when it was someone else's baby, took said ex to court and sued, went completely off the rails, and now trying to clean up my life. That's quite a bit for a year."

Neve nodded.

"Exactly, so when I told him everything, he asked if we could meet up because he wanted to give me something to give to you."

"Hold up! He lives in Ohio?" Finn asked, confused. Neve shook her head.

"Nah, Thailand. But he flew in specifically for that reason."

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, how considerate." He commented, sarcastically. Neve shrugged.

"Yeah, it was actually. So we met up for a cup of coffee a couple of weeks ago and he gave me this to give to you. He said that he can't take back everything that happened to you, but he could help change your future."

Neve handed Finn the envelope. He opened it to reveal a bunch of documents that he didn't recognise at all. He looked up at Neve, questioningly.

"Um… what are these?" Finn asked. Neve took a deep breath.

"These are hospital forms for surgery." She replied. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, you really know how to pick a gift!" Finn joked. Neve rolled her eyes.

"Haha. No, these forms are for surgery for your back. They are going to readjust your back and after a month or so of rehab, you'll be able to see that checkered flag once again."

Finn's jaw dropped. He shook his head.

"Look, no offence Neve but I don't think that's possible. Surgery for my back is at least 150 thousand dollars, plus whatever rehab costs."

Neve nodded.

"Yes, and… Dad paid for all of that in full, and he also left a pretty large check to pay for rehab."

Finn felt tears coming to his eyes.

"Neve, are you serious? Because if this is a joke, it's NOT funny!"

Neve laughed.

"No, it's not a joke. It took a fair bit of work to be able to track down dad, but I feel like he came through."

Finn couldn't believe it! There was a small chance that he could actually make it as a racing driver after all!

"Neve, I don't know what to say. I feel like thank you just isn't enough. This is absolutely incredible." Finn murmured, tears running down his face. He grabbed his sister and gave her a huge hug.

"It's no problem. You're my best friend in the whole world, and you're an amazing brother. You deserve it."

"She's right. You do, Finn." Carole added. Her and Sarah were watching the whole exchange from the couch. "And just know… you are always welcome to live here, even after you graduate. You can stay here for as long as it takes you to find success, whether it be on the race track or in another field of life."

"You better believe it's going to be on the race track!" Finn exclaimed. "And thanks, mom. It means a lot."

The rest of the day was spent in a typical Christmas fashion: eating gingerbread men, playing outside in the snow, singing Christmas songs, and eating Carole's magnificent Christmas dinner. Finn was still in disbelief when his head hit the pillow that night. Less than half a year from then, he could be back on the track!


	16. Chapter 16

A week later, Finn had successfully gone under the knife and had cervical plates inserted in the lower lumbar section of his spine. It was a relatively straightforward surgery and there was minimal risk to it. The problem was after the surgery: the rehab after the surgery would possibly take up to two months. Finn was also kept in the hospital for 3 days after his surgery to make sure that there were no complications from the surgery. Luckily, Finn was given the all clear to go home, and he would be starting his rehab the next day.

Finn walked into the physical rehab center nervous yet determined. He was going to push himself as much as he possibly could, without going too far and making his recovery worse. The facility was the most elite facility in the State - being the only rich person in his family, his dad had prepaid for it all of course. Walking into the clinic, Finn went to the reception desk where an elderly lady smiled kindly at him.

"Hello sir. Can I help you with something?" She asked.

"Um… yeah actually. I'm Finn Hudson. I'm here for…"

"Physical rehab?" The receptionist finished. Finn nodded. "You're right on time, Mr. Hudson. You have currently been written as a two month program, but that's subject to change. You could take half that time, you could take double that time. It all depends on how long it takes for your body to heal. So the way your rehab works is that you will have one session a week with a personal trainer and you have access to all the facilities between sessions. Sounds good?" She asked.

"Sounds great." Finn replied. The lady smiled and stood up.

"Cool. Follow me. Your rehab room is just down the hall." She said as she led him down the corridor in the clinic. "Oh… one more thing. I hope it's okay but you're not going to be doing a 1 on 1 session. There's one more person with you, just out of surgery after a car accident. I'm sure you can relate, huh?"

Finn laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, sure. No problem. What's his name?" Finn asked. The receptionist shook her head.

"HER name is Emily. Here we are." She said, pointing to a door. "Well, I wish you good luck in your rehab, Mr. Hudson."

Finn smiled.

"Thanks. And thanks for all your help." He said, before entering the room. The room looked a lot like a gym, containing all the equipment a fully-equipped gym had. In the corner of the room, Finn noticed a girl sitting on the benches. He walked over to her. When he was closer, he realised that she was by far the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen. She had caramel hair that fell loosely down past her shoulders. Her eyes were hazel, with flecks of gold streaking through them. She smiled at him as he walked over and he noticed how radiant her smile was. It was contagious too: Finn couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey, how's it going?" Finn said, shaking her hand. "I'm Finn."

"Emily." She replied. "It's really nice to meet you."

"Yeah, likewise. So how long have you been here for?" Finn asked.

"First day today, actually. I had surgery a couple of days ago. Some issues with my spine in my neck from severe whiplash."

Finn nodded.

"I'm so sorry. If you don't mind my asking, what happened?" Finn asked, politely. Emily sighed and looked down.

"A week ago, I was driving home from school when some jackass t-boned my car." She murmured. Finn gasped.

"I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed. She shrugged and smiled.

"It's fine. I'm alive, aren't I?" She pointed out. Finn nodded.

"Damn right, you are." Finn responded.

"What about you? What brought you here?" She asked. Finn sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Car accident, too. Although mine wasn't anyone's fault. It was during an F3 racing competition a year ago, so I knew the risk going in."

"You were a race car driver?" She asked, astonished. Finn nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, and not to brag or anything but I was a pretty decent one. I was on track to be in Formula 1 right after high school. Until I crashed last year."

"With all due respect, but why did it take so long for you to get surgery and start rehab?"

Finn sighed.

"Not enough money for it. I'm from a broken family and my dad, after a year of no contact, ended up paying for my surgery and rehab in full. Christmas/high school graduation gift I guess."

"Oh, you graduated high school last year?" She asked. Finn shook his head.

"Nah, I'm graduating this year."

"Oh, no way! I'm graduating this year, too! What school?" She asked.

"McKinley. What about you?"

"Crawford County Day in Westerville." She replied. Before they could say anything else, their trainer walked into the room and Finn began his first rehab session. The long road to recovery had begun…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

**A week later…**

"8! 9! 10!"

Finn collapsed on the ground after just 10 pull ups. His lower back had started to hurt so he immediately stopped.

"I can't do this anymore. I give up." Finn murmured as he practically collapsed on the ground. Emily held out a hand to help him up but he slapped the hand away and groaned.

"No! Leave me! Let me die here." Finn muttered. Emily giggled.

"Sissy." She remarked, jokingly. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me? Did you just call me a sissy?!"

"Did I stutter?" Emily responded, jokingly. Finn jumped up to his feet.

"Oh, hell no! I'm not having that!" Finn exclaimed, grabbing the pull up bar and jumping onto it once more. After one more pull up, the pain started once again and he fell back down.

"Never mind. I'm done! I feel like I'm going to die!" Finn murmured. Emily laughed.

"Told you! Sissy!" She laughed. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Let's see you do better!" He demanded. Emily shook her head.

"I can't! I'm too short! I can't reach the bar!" She pouted. Finn chuckled. Emily was around 5'5 so was almost a foot shorter than Finn.

"I'm not accepting that as an excuse! I'll give you a leg up." Finn offered. Emily beamed.

"Thanks." she replied. Finn linked his fingers together and held them outwards. Emily put her right foot in Finn's hands and he boosted her up.

"1!" He called as she did the first pull up.

"2!"

"3!"

"4!"

"I'm not going to make it!" Emily cried.

"Come on, Em! You've got this!" Finn encouraged.

"No, you don't get it! I'm seriously not going to make it!" She shouted before dropping off the bar. She ended up colliding with Finn as she landed, causing them both to topple over and into a compromising position with Emily on top of Finn. Moments later, they realised what it looked like and Emily quickly rolled off of him. They spent the next half hour laughing hysterically, partly because what had just happened was hilarious, but also to help themselves avoid the fact that when they were briefly on top of each other, they both felt sparks.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

**One Month Later…**

"98!"

"99!"

"100!"

Finn stood up after having done 100 sit ups, not even having broken a sweat. He had made incredible progress over the past month - he had spent pretty much the whole three weeks of his Christmas break in the physical therapy center, as well as the first week of Term 2 of school off as he was spending up to 10 hours a day in the facility.

He was doing literally everything him and Emily's trainer was telling them to do: doing the exercises and stretches he told them to do; sleeping in the correct positions, no matter how uncomfortable they were; refraining from any activities the doctor deemed bad for him. A bonus of all the time spent in the clinic, as well as getting healed of course, was that him and Emily had gotten extremely close. They were spending the majority of their time together, so naturally they became close friends. Finn learnt so much about Emily - she was originally from New York but moved to Westerville when she was 7, she loved singing and music in general, she had a massive phobia of spiders and snakes. But most importantly, she was probably the kindest and funniest person Finn had ever met. In addition, with the amount that Finn talked about her at home, Neve and Sarah were convinced that he had a crush on her. Finn had a hard time denying that. After all, who wasn't attracted to a sweet, caring, funny, hot girl?

Unfortunately, Emily wasn't present that day. She had just finished her physical assessments the day before and was officially done with her rehab as well.

"Well done, Finn! I think you've done all I can help you with." The personal trainer said. "The next step is finally getting back in that race car and becoming a racing beast again."

Finn smiled and nodded at his trainer.

"Thanks. You know, I might actually miss this place. After all, I did spend like a whole month of my life here! I even missed a week of school to be here! Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. For pushing me when I felt like giving up. For teaching me everything I needed to know. For not retiring after 3 days of me being here!"

The trainer, a middle-aged gay man named Marco Rodrigeuz, grinned at him.

"It was my pleasure, buddy. You're going to do great things in this world. Your persistence and determination told me that much. But to be honest, it's your girlfriend you have to thank, not me. I feel like you wouldn't come half as much if it wasn't for her."

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Um… I don't have a girlfriend." Finn replied. Marco looked at him strangely.

"Wait… what? You and Emily aren't…"

Finn laughed.

"No, no, no, no, no! Em's like one of my closest friends, and that's all she is." Finn said, unconvincingly. Marco laughed.

"Oh, come on buddy! I've seen you guys practically every day during the past month! The flirting, the laughing, the unsubtle glances at each other while the other is working out. It's clear you two are more than just friends."

Finn looked down and took a deep breath.

"You know, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about that. Quite frankly, I have. A LOT. But at the end of the day, I'm never going to act on it. I'm not going to risk losing my best friend in the world for a romance that's probably not going to work out."

"But what if it does, Finn? What if this is the start of your happily ever after story? Look, can I give you some advice, as the person who has guided you and seen the two of you over the past month?"

"Please." Finn replied.

"I think you should go for it. I've seen that look in your eye when you see her. It's a look I'm pretty familiar with. It's the look I used to give a guy that I liked in high school. Now I was openly gay, which was hard enough as it was, but during my senior year, I had a huge crush on this guy… David Blauman. David and I were friends and although I genuinely thought David was gay, I didn't act on my crush because I didn't want to be that kid who asked out a straight guy and then got casted out by the rest of the group. So I kept my mouth shut and moved on with my life. Then, a month ago, I got a post notification on David's facebook page. It was a post of him, his husband and their new-born adopted child. I looked at the picture and I thought that if I had just plucked up the courage to ask him out, maybe, just maybe, it could have been me in that picture. He was the one who got away and I'll always regret it. Don't make the same mistake I made, Finn."

Finn nodded slowly.

"Thanks, Marco. I'll think about it, I guess."

"Good. And for what it's worth, you two would make an amazing couple…"


	17. Chapter 17

The day after Finn finished therapy, he flew to Austin for the Grand Prix. It was perfect timing - the Grand Prix lining up directly after he finished physical therapy and right before he began school and race training once again. He had planned to train vigorously on a track in Columbus for the final week of January and for most of February, and then he would get back into official competitions so he would get back on the radar of the Formula racing industry.

The Grand Prix weekend was an incredible vacation, possibly one of the best of Finn's whole life. He travelled alone and normally that would be pretty boring, but because there was so much to do and see over the course of 4 short days, Finn barely noticed it. As soon as he arrived in Austin, he shot off a quick text to his family to let them know that he arrived safely, before taking a cab to his hotel. He quickly checked in before spending the rest of the afternoon/evening exploring the amazing city.

He walked past the State Capitol and Visitors Center, Zilker Metropolitan Park Attractions, Lady Bird Lake and Batty about Austin, all in the course of around 5 hours. After this point, the clock struck 8 and Finn was starving. Rather than going to a classic restaurant, he decided to go full-on Texas mode. He went to an all-you-can-eat ribs diner and stuffed his face to the extent that he practically stumbled back to the hotel.

The next day was Friday, and it was time for the first and second practise session for the U.S Grand Prix. Finn sat among all of the people in the grandstands, and watched in awe as all of his heroes took to the track and warmed themselves up and familiarized themselves with the track in preparation for the high-intensity events of the coming two days. In particular, Finn loved to watch Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes team. They were just a tier above all of the other races. Even elite names such as Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel couldn't match Mercedes' pace. However, slightly disappointing was Hamilton's Mercedes partner Valtteri Bottas, who although was driving such an incredible car, just wasn't on his game. Strangely, he hadn't been doing too well for several weeks now. Given that the U.S Grand Prix was the penultimate race of the season (ironically, the Abu Dhabi GP - in the country where he used to live - was the final race), so unless Bottas somehow managed to up his game by a huge amount, he probably wouldn't be getting a contract renewal from Merc.

The best part about the afternoon, however, was right after the practise sessions. His family had bought him a VIP hospitality ticket to the Grand Prix, meaning that he had the ability to be able to go down into the paddock area and meet all of the drivers. This was going to, by far, be the best moment of his life. He was about to meet his 20 biggest idols. These were men that started from the very bottom just like him, but had successfully made it in an industry where only 20 of the very best make it in the whole world. After the practise, Finn slipped down to the paddock and garage area to meet the drivers.

As soon as he walked in, the scent of burnt tires, the sound of engines roaring and the sight of all twenty cars lined up in their respective garages warmed his heart. He knew, beyond all doubt, that one day, he was going to be here or die trying. Almost immediately, one of the F1 staff members walked up to him.

"Sir, can I see your I.D, please?" He asked. Finn nodded and showed him the VIP Pass that was attached to the lanyard around his neck. The man smiled at him.

"Mr. Hudson. It's a pleasure to have you with us today."

"It's just incredible to be here." Finn replied.

"Are you excited to meet the drivers?"

"Oh yeah! Definitely! It's like a dream come true!"

The guy laughed.

"I'm glad. Now, are you ready? I'm going to take you through to the lounge area, where all of the drivers are meeting the VIP members."

Finn smiled and rubbed his hands together in anticipation and jumped on the spot.

"Hell yeah I'm ready!" Finn exclaimed. The man led him away from the paddock and into the adjacent building. They then made it to a pair of double doors which connected to the drivers' lounge. The man entered the room and Finn followed close behind…

When they entered, Finn nearly passed out. All of his favourite racers were there! Lewis Hamilton! Charles Leclerc! Max Verstappen! Lando Norris! Alex Albon! Finn actually had met Alex Albon before. Alex Albon was currently the youngest driver currently on the F1 circuit at only 19 years of age, and just over 2 years ago, when Finn was 16, he had raced against Albon in the F3 Asian Championship. The two of them had battled for 1st and 2nd for the entire year, with Finn eventually pipping Albon for first place in the final week. Sure enough, Albon recognised him instantly and walked over.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is, rising from the dead. You know, I genuinely thought that the roles would be reversed between the two of us."

"How's it going, buddy?" Finn asked, bro handshaking his old friend. Despite their fierce rivalry on the track, Finn and Alex used to be pretty close friends. Finn was living in the UAE and Albon was living in his home country of Thailand so the two of them often saw each other in across-Asia competitions.

"Not too bad." Alex laughed. "But that's kind of obvious. How are you doing? That's what I want to know. I heard about that crash and then two weeks later, you just disappeared from the circuit. What happened?"

Finn shrugged.

"Well, you know, spine injuries are nasty. I was supposedly done with any hopes of making it to F1. Also, I was pulled from the UAE because my parents got divorced and my mom didn't have enough money to keep me abroad. She also needed me home to help raise and look after my sisters, so I moved back to the States."

Albon sighed.

"Man, that sucks. I really missed you on the circuit. Let's face it… we were the ones who gave F3 life."

Finn laughed.

"Damn right we were!" Finn replied.

"So, is your injury permanent? Is there like a cure or surgery or something that can help?"

Finn nodded.

"I mean there was, but it was hella expensive so I couldn't afford it."

"Wait, your problem was with money? Why didn't you just call me? Look at the people I'm hanging with! Between them and I, we could have gotten you the money!"

Finn shook his head.

"I wasn't about to do that. I considered it when you first made it into F1 at the start of this season but I thought it would be rude, especially given that I hadn't seen you in almost a year."

"Well, do you want the money now?" Alex asked. Finn shook his head.

"Nah, my dad actually got into contact for the first time in two years and paid for the surgery in full. I've spent the past month in physical therapy and now I'm going to spend the next couple of months training on the track to get back in action."

"Wai… you're racing again?! Finn, that's awesome! Yo, you're for sure gonna make it into F1!" Albon exclaimed. Finn laughed.

"Well, that's the plan. It's going to be a hell of a long road to get there though."

"You'll make it, buddy. I have no doubt." Albon replied. "Now, come meet the guys."

Finn spent the next hour meeting with the other F1 drivers and getting photos and autographs with them. Obviously, the veteran racers such as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were more mature than the younger drivers, even the 18-20 year old drivers were pretty down to earth. Finn spent a while talking to Alex's teammate Max Verstappen, who was only 22 and yet the only driver who could possibly challenge Lewis Hamilton. It was the best day of his life, and the next two days were extremely enjoyable as well.

On Saturday, the drivers had their qualifying for the race. It was the beginning of the extremely high-stakes next two days. Lewis Hamilton, as expected, ended the day on pole position (P1), with Max Verstappen coming in 2nd and Charles Leclerc in 3rd. There were some huge surprises during qualifying as well. During the final qualifying session (Q2), Valtteri Bottas' brakes locked up on his crucial lap, leaving him 10th - a pretty bad result for someone driving a Mercedes.

Sunday was the best day though. It was the race day and the U.S Grand Prix had everything. In the first 10 laps, there were 2 major crashes and 7 drivers forced to retire for the race. Finn, along with the rest of the fans in the grandstands, was on the edge of his seat in anticipation. Surprisingly, due to the fact that a third of the drivers were out of the race, Alex was making incredible time and speed, and was actually in 3rd place! He had narrowly avoided both crashes and was just behind both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Finn prayed that his friend managed to hold onto his podium position and sure enough, he clinched the final podium position and Finn got to watch as his friend lifted his third place trophy and popped the champagne bottle. As Finn watched Alex in a state of pure euphoria and triumph, he felt a pang of sadness. If he hadn't crashed, it could've been him on that podium, living that luxurious life. NO! He couldn't think about that! He couldn't take back the past; he could only create his own future and with God as his witness, he would be in F1 by his 25th birthday!

After the race, Finn had around 3 hours before he had to head to the airport. He had now missed 9 days of school so he needed to get back. Also, he had missed a week and a half of Glee preparation for Regionals in March, which he was sure his friends would ream him out for.

Finn landed back in Lima Airport at around 11 pm and it was pouring rain when he stepped out of the airport. His mom was due to pick him up but her car was nowhere to be seen. Finn took out his phone and noticed that he had one unread message from Carole…

**Hey honey, I'm so sorry but I won't be able to pick u up from the airport. Neve's come down with a bad fever and I've gotta take care of her. Could u pls just take a cab?**

Finn sent back a thumbs up emoji before putting his phone back in his pocket and looking up. He then realised that due to the extremely late hour, there were no taxis around. Lima Airport was one of the smallest airports in the country so not many cabs ran in that area. Suddenly, after around 15 minutes of just standing in the rain and hoping and praying that a taxi would show up, one actually did. Finn jogged towards it but before he could make it, a whole family who had also just arrived got inside it. Finn groaned and resigned to just sitting on the ground, letting the rain wash over him. He ended up calling the one person he knew lived nearby and he could rely on. Sure enough, a silver Range Rover pulled up beside him 15 minutes later.

"Hey cowboy!" Emily exclaimed, sticking her head out of the window and smirking at him. Finn smiled widely.

"Hey, Em. Thank you so much for this." He replied, throwing his duffel into the trunk of the car before walking around to get in. Then, he attempted to open the passenger door but realised that it was locked.

"Um… Emily?" He asked, confused. Emily rolled down the window and threw a towel at him.

"You're soaking wet! You're not getting in my car like that! Dry yourself off first!" She demanded. Finn laughed and nodded. 20 minutes later, Emily parked the car in the driveway of Finn's house and he hopped out. After grabbing his duffel, Finn walked to the driver's side of the car and smiled at his friend.

"Em, I can't thank you enough. I thought I was going to have to walk home or spend the night outside!"

Emily laughed.

"It was no problem. I know you would've done the same for me."

Finn nodded.

"Still, it was a huge ask. OK, I guess I'll see you around." Finn said.

"See you soon, Finn." Emily replied. Finn watched as she drove off into the night and he smiled faintly. He had never felt the way he felt towards Emily before. It was all so new to him. He was torn: he could ask her out but if they broke up, he would risk losing his best friend in the whole world. The other option was to just keep living in denial about his feelings for Emily and still have Emily as a friend. Finn decided to with option 2. Nothing to lose with that option, right?


	18. Chapter 18

The next day, Finn woke up, exhausted. He had finally ended up getting to sleep close to 1 am and he woke up less than 6 hours after. He ate a quick breakfast before heading to school for his first Glee session in more than a month. Ever since the Christmas break, he had become a much more confident, proud person, and he honestly had Emily to thank for it. She had encouraged him the whole time he was in rehab to heal as quickly as possible and because he healed so quickly, his goal of being in F1 one day was back so he had a more determined, strong outlook to his life. Finn whistled along to the radio as he finally pulled into school. He couldn't even feel his back pain anymore which was really reassuring to him.

When Finn entered the choir room, everyone smiled at him. He hadn't seen any of them for the whole Christmas break because he was always either with Emily in rehab or with his family.

"Well, well, well, look who's back from the dead! What's up, man?" Puck said. Finn grinned.

"Not much." Finn replied.

"Where the hell were you?" Sam asked. "You missed the first week of school. And during the break, you didn't meet up with anyone, speak to anyone on social media. I even drove by your house a couple of times and you weren't there."

Finn shrugged.

"I was busy." He said, simply.

"Doing what?" Santana laughed.

"Singing?" Rachel asked excitedly. "Because if so, that could really help us for Regionals!"

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"No, believe it or not, I didn't spend my Christmas SINGING. Nah, I had surgery." He said.

Everyone gasped.

"Are you okay?" Mr. Schue asked. Finn nodded.

"Yeah, it was surgery for my back actually. It was to insert plates into my lower spine. It was the cure for my back injury. I spent the whole Christmas break in physical therapy and I'm going to be back on the race track in the coming days to get back into training so that's pretty good."

Everyone cheered and hugged him.

"Finn, that's awesome!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. "Wait, does that mean you're quitting Glee!"

"Yeah, you can't quit! We need you!" Mike exclaimed. Finn laughed and shook his head.

"No, I'm not quitting. Don't worry about that. But I might miss some rehearsals if I've got a race or something. I hope that's okay."

"Yeah, that's fine. And we're really happy for you. You so deserve it. After everything you've been through, you deserve all the happiness and success in the world." Mr. Schue said. Finn smiled.

"Thanks." Finn replied.

"So, I was speaking to Figgins and apparently we've got a new student interested in joining us." Mr. Schue said. Everyone looked up in interest.

"Ooh… who is it?" Rachel asked, curiously.

"Is it a dude? Because we need a dude! We're outnumbered by chicks!"

"Women." Finn muttered. Puck turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" He asked, confused.

"Women." Finn repeated. "Not chicks. Show some respect."

Puck rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. So is it a dude or a _woman_?" Puck asked, emphasising the last word.

"A girl." Mr. Schue replied. "She's a transfer from Westchester."

"Alright. I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick. Feel free to get started." Finn said, standing up and walking out of the room. A few minutes later, Principal Figgins walked into the choir room, accompanied by an 18 year old girl.

"Listen up, Glee club." Figgins announced. "This is Emily Cahill. She's a transfer from Crawford County Day. She was interested in joining the New Directions. I'll leave her in your hands, Schue."

Figgins then walked out of the room, leaving Emily with the Glee club and Mr. Schue.

"Hey, Emily. How's it going? I'm Will Schuester. I'm the coach for the New Directions. It's really great to have you here." Mr. Schue said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

"It's good to be here." Emily replied, shaking his hand.

"So, Emily, do you sing much?" Mr. Schue asked her. Emily nodded.

"Yeah, my whole life. It's always been my way of blowing off steam."

"Well, can we hear you sing something, kind of as an informal audition? You're already in, don't worry. It's just to kind of gauge your ability."

Emily nodded.

"Sure. Am I allowed to play the piano?"

Mr. Schue smiled and nodded.

"By all means. Take it away, Emily…"

_No matter how hard I try_

_You keep pushing me aside_

_And I can't break through_

_There's no talking to you_

_It's so sad that you're leaving_

_It takes time to believe it_

_But after all is said and done_

_You're gonna be the lonely one_

_Oh, oh_

_Do you believe in life after love?_

_I can feel something inside me say,_

_"I really don't think you're strong enough, no."_

_Do you believe in life after love?_

_I can feel something inside me say,_

_"I really don't think you're strong enough, no."_

_What am I supposed to do?_

_Sit around and wait for you?_

_Well, I can't do that_

_There's no turning back_

_I need time to move on_

_I need love to feel strong_

_'Cause I've had time to think it through_

_And maybe I'm too good for you_

_Oh, oh_

_Do you believe in life after love?_

_I can feel something inside me say,_

_"I really don't think you're strong enough, no."_

_Do you believe in life after love?_

_I can feel something inside me say,_

_"I really don't think you're strong enough, no."_

_Well, I know that I'll get through this_

_'Cause I know that I am strong_

_I don't need you anymore_

_Oh, I don't need you anymore_

_I don't need you anymore_

_No, I don't need you anymore_

_Do you believe in life after love?_

_I can feel something inside me say,_

_"I really don't think you're strong enough, no."_

_Do you believe in life after love?_

_I can feel something inside me say,_

_"I really don't think you're strong enough, no."_

_Do you believe in life after love?_

_I can feel something inside me say,_

_"I really don't think you're strong enough, no."_

_Do you believe in life after love?_

_I can feel something inside me say,_

_"I really don't think you're strong enough, no."_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=rMY6FUkCfaw &ab_channel=Beautizul**

**Or Search… 'Ella Henderson Believe'**

**You should actually listen to this song. It's beautiful, and so different to the original, which quite frankly is kinda annoying**

At the end of the song, everyone cheered and clapped. Emily had done an incredible job at creating an emotional, unique cover of the Cher song. A couple of people even had tears in their eyes.

"Wow… um… wow." Mr. Schue stammered. "Emily, that was gorgeous."

Emily beamed.

"Thanks. So am I in?" She asked, nervously. Everyone laughed.

"Honey, not only are you in but you're probably our new female lead." Santana remarked. Everyone nodded in agreement and Rachel shot to her feet.

"Uh-uh. Hell, no! I've been female lead of the Glee club for the past 3 years. Bitch Barbie over here isn't about to take my place!" Rachel exclaimed. Everyone gasped and Emily raised an eyebrow.

"Um… excuse me?" Emily asked, standing up a bit straighter.

"Don't listen to her. She gets like this whenever a good singer joins the club." Mercedes reassured Emily to try and diffuse the situation a little. Emily was definitely a calm, pacifistic person in general but if someone insulted her, she wasn't about to just sit around and take it. Before she could respond, the door to the choir room swung open and Finn stepped inside.

"Yo, did the new kid arrive yet?" Finn asked as he walked in the room.

"Yeah, open your eyes, buddy!" Mr. Schue responded, pointing to Emily, who had her back turned to him. When she turned to face him, Finn's eyes widened.

"Um… don't I know you from somewhere?" Finn remarked, smiling widely.

"FINN!" She exclaimed. The size of her smile matched his as the two of them hugged tightly.

"How do you guys know each other?" Quinn asked, hints of jealousy evident in her voice. Over the Christmas break, as Quinn started to balloon out as she was entering her final trimester, Puck had gotten more and more difficult and unhelpful, to the extent that they had broken up. Although Puck would still be allowed to see the baby when it arrived, him and Quinn would no longer be together. Because of this, Quinn was longing to be with someone who cared for her like Finn did, and she wanted more than anything for Finn to take her back in his arms. However, that probably wasn't about to happen, especially with that smoke show Emily in the club.

"We were in physical therapy together. We spent like every waking moment together for a whole month." Emily explained.

"Longest month of my life." Finn joked. Emily put on a face of mock-hurt.

"Well, it was no picnic for me either!" She retorted back. Everyone laughed. The two of them then both sat down on the chairs and Mr. Schue began the lesson…


	19. Chapter 19

"OK, listen up, guys. I've got a fun assignment for you guys this week." Mr. Schue said, and then walked over to the board and wrote a single word:

**BALLADS**

"As you all know, Vocal Adrenaline is going to take no prisoners at Regionals so we're going to have to pull out all the stops to be able to finally beat them. This is, for most of you, your third and final year in the New Directions so I know you want to win just as much as I do. Which means Regionals preparation is going to start right from now. So, as usual, we are going to open our set with a ballad. Can anyone tell me what a ballad means?"

Rachel jumped to her feet and raised a hand.

"Yes, Rachel?" Mr. Schue said.

"A ballad is a song that tells a story, whether it be love, heartbreak or another aspect of life." She recited as if reading straight from a textbook.

"Nerd." Emily coughed discreetly into her arm so only Finn could hear her. He tried so hard to fight back a laugh, to the extent that his face started turning red. Rachel noticed and scowled at him.

"Something funny, Finn?" She snapped. Finn shook his head.

"Sorry. Just trying to hold in a coughing fit." He muttered in excuse. He then glared at Emily, who was silently giggling at his expense.

"Anyways…" Mr. Schue said, bringing the conversation back to relevance. "You guys might remember from past competitions but the opening ballad can make or break our performance, and can be the difference between coming back to Lima as losers 3 years straight, or be the lucky charm that gets us to New York for Nationals."

"Mr. Schue…" Rachel said. "I would be honored to solo for Regionals. As the only person with experience soloing in Regionals having solo'd last year and the year before, I'm the obvious choice."

Emily raised a hand.

"Um… Rachel? With all due respect, how many of those Regionals did you win?" Emily asked. Everyone gasped at the roast and Rachel stared daggers at the new girl. If looks could kill, Emily would not only be dead, but she would probably be vaporised. Everyone snickered quietly at the look on Rachel's face.

"Mr. Schue, don't listen to her! She's new! She doesn't know what she's talking about!" Rachel cried, desperately. "You know I'm the best singer in the Glee club. If we want to make it to Nationals, we can't afford to have one of our… _weaker_ voices soloing."

At this point, Mercedes, Kurt and Santana all stood up.

"How dare you?!" Mercedes shouted.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Kurt yelled.

"Listen, puta, you say that you're the best singer one more time and I swear to God Imma go full Lima Heights on your ass!" Santana spat. Mr. Schue raised a hand to stop them.

"Guys, enough! Rachel, shut up!" Mr. Schue shouted. Everyone immediately stopped talking after Mr. Schue's outburst. "Rachel, I'm sorry to say this but I'm not going to blindly give you another solo. There are so many amazing talents in the Glee club, and it would be a shame for them to all go to waste. Which is why I'm having open auditions. Anyone who wants to audition can. I'll pick the two best auditions and I'll have them perform again as like a final showdown. The rest of the New Directions will vote for their favourite and that person will be soloing in Regionals. And who knows? If they do a good job and we make it to Nationals, maybe I'll have them solo again. Does that make sense?"

Everyone nodded in understanding and they smiled at the fair way of deciding on solos. For too long, Mr. Schue had just blindly given Rachel solos because she shouted the loudest, not necessarily because she had the best voice.

"Good. Now, for those of you auditioning, you probably should start preparing ASAP because I'll be hearing performances at the end of the week." Mr. Schue declared. "Dismissed."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"So, what song do you think you're going to sing?" Emily asked. Finn had just given Emily a full tour of the school - not that there was much to see - and they were now just sitting in an empty auditorium. Finn shrugged.

"I have no idea. I don't know if I'm even going to audition." Finn said. Emily raised an eyebrow.

"Why? You're a great singer." She said. Finn shook his head.

"I'm average, and that's the problem. I don't really have much talent so I rely on hard work. But I don't have time to spend hours practising one solo. I want to spend all my free time on the race track. That's my top priority. Not some dumb singing competition."

"Woah, woah, woah! Lower your voice! If Rachel hears you calling Glee club dumb, you're going to wake up in a dumpster with a knife in your stomach." She joked. Finn chuckled.

"You know, I can honestly see her doing that. And it also reflects how much she cares about this competition. I really don't. Do you know why I joined this club in the first place?" He asked. Emily shook her head.

"Why?"

"I was forced to! I was blackmailed into it! It was either that or being expelled so it's not like I had a choice. So I feel like people like Rachel, Mercedes and Kurt, who really care about Glee, deserve to solo. They're the ones who put in the most work, they're the ones who actually want to study music after high school, so they are the ones who should solo."

Emily raised an eyebrow.

"So are you telling me that you have never raced against drivers who have put in more work than you?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, but…" Finn started but was cut off by Emily.

"Look, Finn, you've gotta grow up. The hardest workers don't always win. It's a fact of life. You still need talent to be able to succeed."

"Are you telling me that Rachel and Mercedes don't have talent?" Finn remarked.

"No, they're definitely talented. But I know you very well and I know how talented you are. Annoyingly so. You don't have to put in hours of work. You can just pull something out of the bag last minute and I guarantee it will be good. So you should sign up to audition. You don't have to prepare for it. Nothing to lose, right?"

Finn smiled at his friend.

"Thanks, Em. You know, I might audition. Are you going to?"

"Are you kidding? I actually like singing, so yeah!" She exclaimed. Finn nodded. The two of them lapsed into silence for a moment before Emily spoke up. "Hey, Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"This might seem like a random question but… are you married?"

Finn choked on the sip of water he had just taken. He cracked up laughing.

"Am I married? What kind of a question is that? Of course I'm not married! Why would you ask me that?"

"Your ring." Emily pointed. Finn looked down at his left hand, where he wore a black tungsten ring. Finn chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm not married. The ring is special to me. It was actually a part from the very first go kart I drove competitively. It kind of symbolizes the start of my racing career. After I graduated to Formula 3, I had it cleaned up, polished and made into a ring."

Emily nodded.

"Oh, that makes a bit more sense." She said.

"Yeah, I don't have a girlfriend but I'm married at age 18." Finn remarked, sarcastically. Emily giggled.

"Sorry, I just had to ask. With all the time we've spent together, it would've been quite a weird thing to leave out."

Finn nodded.

"Yeah, wouldn't it? Anyways, can we stop talking about how sad my love life is, please?" Finn asked. Emily laughed.

"Sure." She replied, still laughing quietly. They made small talk for a couple more minutes before Finn stood up.

"OK, as much as I love chatting with you, I've gotta go. I just signed a driving deal with an F3 team last night and I feel like they won't be too happy if I'm late on my first training session in a year."

Emily stood up and hugged him.

"That's amazing! I'm so happy for you! Just don't kill yourself on your first day, okay? I really don't want to be going to your funeral."

Finn laughed.

"Yes, ma'am."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Finn arrived at the racetrack in Columbus nearly two hours later. He was extremely lucky that the F3 team he was training with - Global Racing Group - was based in Columbus, and to make it even better, Global Racing Group was the biggest F3 team in the States so had the best facilities. In the racing complex, there was a karting track, an F2/F3 track, a gym where the drivers did their physical training, as well as a whole room of electronic simulators equipped with everything a normal car would. The point of the simulators were to familiarise the drivers with the tracks they were about to race on without physically travelling to the circuit.

When Finn walked into the complex, he was immediately met by one of his fellow drivers - a young, 16 year old.

"Hey, bro. How's it going?" He asked. Finn smiled.

"Not too bad. Yourself?"

"Pretty good. Pretty good. I'm Josh by the way. Josh Richardson."

"Finn Hudson. Nice to meet you, man."

"Yeah, likewise. So how long have you been driving for GRG?" Finn asked.

"Um… almost a year now."

"Oh, that's cool. Any podiums?" Finn smirked. Josh blushed.

"None yet." He replied. "I'm getting there. P5 in the last race of last season. First race is in less than a month and I'm gunning for the podium. How about you? I heard you did a bit of racing abroad."

Finn nodded.

"Yeah, I did. In Dubai of all places. I competed in the F3 Asian Championship for the past two years. Last year my season was cut short because of injury though. I got hit about halfway through the season and just finished physical therapy a week or so ago."

"Wow, man. That sucks." Josh said, sympathetically. Finn shrugged.

"It's fine. I'm back now. And anyways, I won the Asian F3 Championship two years ago in my rookie year so I'm not that bad."

Josh wolf whistled.

"Damn. So you're pretty good then, huh?"

"You could say that." Finn smirked. Before they could say anything else, the whole GRG crew walked towards them. Each driver had their own crew, consisting of the various car mechanics who were in charge of making sure the car was in good shape during the races, as well as to help switching tyres during pit stops. In addition, each driver had their own race engineer, who would be in their ear during the race to communicate everything that the driver needed to know. After meeting his new team, Finn and Josh finally made it onto the track for the first practise of the season.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Hey, Finn. Radio Check. Radio Check. Come in."

Finn was out on the track, getting the feel of his new car. The feeling of slicing through the air in the snake-like vehicle for the first time in a year felt just incredible. The whole afternoon would be spent adjusting every setting of the car to Finn's liking, so that it would be ready for the race.

"WHOOOO! IT'S FRIDAY THEN… SATURDAY, SUNDAY WHAT? IT'S FRIDAY THEN… SATURDAY, SUNDAY WHAT?"

Finn sang the stupid song into the radio. He could hear his race engineer, Dalton Graves, laughing on the other end.

"I take it, it works."

"Like a charm. Is everything okay with the car, on your end?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, everything looks good. Now, let's try party mode."

"Party mode? Are you sure?" Finn asked, astonished. He was familiar with all of the racing strategies from his time in F3 a year ago and party mode was the fastest the car could go. It was pushing the car to the gears' very limit.

"Yes. Are you okay with that?" Dalton asked. Finn smiled to himself.

"Hell, yeah!" Finn exclaimed. "YEE HAW!" He shouted as he floored the acceleration on the straight part of the track. He was absolutely flying on his very first session, much faster than Josh, the more experienced driver. Being back on the track was a feeling like no other. He ended up driving home that night, happier than he had been in ages. He was officially back in the game!


	20. Chapter 20

"Hey, guys. How are you all today?"

The past week had flown by - Finn's time was taken up by driving up to Columbus and back almost daily, training for at least 3 hours a day, practising for Glee club and socialising with his family and friends. To make his life slightly easier, his racing team had installed a simulator in his bedroom in Lima to save him going all the way to Columbus just to, in essence, play a more life-like video game. They had even connected it to a headset and microphone so he'd be able to communicate with his team in Columbus.

Before he knew it, he was in the auditorium and those auditioning for the Regionals solo would be getting ready to sing soon.

"So, on my list here, I've got that Rachel, Mercedes, Kurt, Santana, Emily and Finn are all auditioning. Is that right?"

The 6 of them nodded.

"Is there anyone else who wants to audition? Speak now or forever hold your peace." He asked. Nobody spoke. "That's good. Okay, who wants to sing first?"

Rachel jumped to her feet.

"I'll go first!" She exclaimed. Everyone rolled their eyes - even Mr. Schue did.

"OK, go ahead, Rachel."

Rachel ran onto the stage and stood before the stand. Everyone knew exactly what she was going to sing even before the first lyric escaped her lips.

_Don't tell me not to live_

_Just sit and putter_

_Life's candy and the sun's_

_A ball of butter_

_Don't bring around a cloud_

_To rain on my parade_

_Don't tell me not to fly_

_I've simply got to_

_If someone takes a spill_

_It's me and not you_

_Who told you you're allowed_

_To rain on my parade!_

_I'll march my band out_

_I'll beat my drum_

_And if I'm fanned out_

_Your turn at bat, sir_

_At least I didn't fake it_

_Hat, sir, I guess I didn't make it!_

_But whether I'm the rose_

_Of sheer perfection_

_Or freckle on the nose_

_Of life's complexion_

_The cinder or the shiny apple of its eye_

_I gotta fly once_

_I gotta try once_

_Only can die once, right, sir?_

_Ooh, life is juicy_

_Juicy, and you'll see_

_I'm gonna have my bite, sir!_

_Get ready for me, love_

_'Cause I'm a "comer"_

_I simply gotta march_

_My heart's a drummer_

_Don't bring around a cloud_

_To rain on my parade!_

_I'm gonna live and live now_

_Get what I want, I know how_

_One roll for the whole shebang_

_One throw, that bell will go clang_

_Eye on the target, and wham_

_One shot, one gun shot, and bam_

_Hey, Mister Arnstein, here I am!_

_I'll march my band out_

_I will beat my drum_

_And if I'm fanned out_

_Your turn at bat, sir_

_At least I didn't fake it_

_Hat, sir, I guess I didn't make it_

_Get ready for me, love_

_'Cause I'm a "comer"_

_I simply gotta march_

_My heart's a drummer_

_Nobody, no, nobody_

_Is gonna rain on my parade!_

**To see the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=W0ULgXjo4Yo &ab_channel=MusicOfGlee**

**Or search… 'Don't Rain on my Parade Rachel Berry'**

Everyone clapped politely. No one could deny that Rachel had a pretty decent voice. However, her performance was missing something. For lack of a better word, it was lacking 'oomph'. It didn't have the emotion and was pretty lackluster in all fairness.

"Great job, Rachel. Can I just say one thing though? You singing the same song over and over again is getting slightly… boring." Mr. Schue remarked. Everyone gasped. "Look, don't get me wrong, you have a beautiful voice. But the thing is so does everyone else, and their versatility might be the reason they pip you for the solo." He said.

"I can sing another one! Please, let me sing another song!" Rachel begged. Mr. Schue shook his head and sighed.

"Sorry, Rachel. You had your shot. If I let you sing two songs, I'd have to let everyone sing two songs, which I'm not about to do. Please take a seat. Mercedes, if you'd like to go next."

Mercedes nodded, stood up and strutted to the front of the room. She was fairly confident and in keeping with her diva personality, she showed it. Although everyone knew that she was probably going to sing an R'n'B or Soul song, nobody knew exactly what she was going to sing.

"All right, Mercedes. Take it away…" Mr. Schue said.

_Oh, she may be weary_

_Young girls they do get weary_

_Wearing that same old shaggy dress, yeah yeah_

_But when she gets weary_

_Try a little tenderness, yeah yeah_

_You know she's waiting_

_Just anticipating_

_For things that she'll never, never, never, never possess, yeah yeah_

_But while she's there waiting, without them_

_Try a little tenderness (that's all you gotta do)_

_It's not just sentimental, no, no, no_

_She has her grief and care, yeah yeah yeah_

_But the soft words, they are spoke so gentle, yeah_

_It makes it easier, easier to bear, yeah_

_You won't regret it, no, no_

_Some girls they don't forget it_

_Love is their only happiness, yeah_

_But it's all so easy_

_All you gotta do is try, try a little tenderness, yeah_

_All you gotta do is, man, hold her where you want her_

_Squeeze her, don't tease her, never leave her_

_Get to her, try, try_

_Just try a little tenderness, ooh yeah yeah yeah_

_You got to know how to love her, man, you'll be surprised, man_

_You've got to squeeze her, don't tease her, never leave_

_You've got to hold her and rub her softly_

_Try a little tenderness, ooh yeah yeah yeah_

_You've got to rub her gentle man, all you gotta do, no no_

_You've got to love her, squeeze her, don't tease her_

_Gotta try nah nah nah, try_

_Try a little tenderness, yeah, watch her groove_

_You've gotta to know what to do, man_

_Take this advice_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=RRbR_aC_ptY &ab_channel=Jo%C3%A3oSilva**

**Or search… 'Try a Little Tenderness Glee'**

It was an amazing performance, much better than Rachel's for sure. Mercedes had combined soul and jazz with emotion and created a lethal combination. She was definitely one of the favourites to get the solo and she knew it too.

"Wow, Mercedes! Just wow!" Mr. Schue exclaimed after the song. "You've come so far in the past three years! It's incredible."

"Thanks, Mr. Schue. I couldn't have done it without you." Mercedes replied.

"Could I just give you one piece of constructive criticism, as one of your biggest fans?" He asked. Mercedes nodded. "I just think… you're too stationary, Mercedes." He said. "We need a soloist who's comfortable moving around, and is not just standing and singing in one place. You don't have to be a dancer like Mike, but a bit more than a 'park and bark' would be great for future performances."

Mercedes nodded. She had heard that feedback before and used to just brush it off, but if that was what would cost her Nationals, she should probably take heed.

"OK, great job Mercedes. Next up is Kurt. good luck, buddy." Mr. Schue said. Kurt nodded and approached the stage. Kurt

_Some people can get a thrill_

_Knitting sweaters and sitting still._

_That's okay for some people_

_Who don't know they're alive._

_Some people can thrive and bloom_

_Living life in the living room._

_That's perfect for some people_

_Of one hundred and five._

_But I at least gotta try_

_When I think of all the sights that I gotta see_

_And all the places I gotta play,_

_All the things that I gotta be at._

_Come on, papa, what do you say?_

_Some people can be content_

_Playing bingo and paying rent._

_That's peachy for some people,_

_For some hum-drum people to be,_

_But some people ain't me!_

_I had a dream,_

_A wonderful dream, papa,_

_All about June in the Orpheum circuit._

_Gimme a chance and I know I can work it._

_I had a dream._

_Just as real as can be, papa._

_There I was in Mr. Orpheum's office_

_And he was saying to me, "Rose,_

_Get yourselves some new orchestrations,_

_New routines and red velvet curtains._

_Get a feathered hat for the baby;_

_Photographs in front of the theatre._

_Get an agent and in jig time_

_You'll be being booked in the big time."_

_Oh, what a dream._

_A wonderful dream, papa._

_And all that I need is eighty-eight bucks, papa._

_That's what he said, papa._

_Only eighty-eight bucks._

_Papa_

_You ain't gettin' eighty-eight cents from me, Rose._

_Rose_

_Well, I'll get it someplace else! But I'll get it! And get my kids out!_

_Goodbye to blueberry pie._

_Good riddance to all the socials I had to go to,_

_All the lodges I had to play,_

_All the shriners I said hello to._

_Hey, L.A., I'm comin' your way!_

_Some people sit on their butts;_

_Got the dream, yeah, but not the guts._

_That's living for some people,_

_For some hum-drum people I suppose._

_Well, they can stay and rot!_

_But not Rose!_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=Uj3PXL2SHgI &ab_channel=BryanO%27loughlin**

**Or search… 'Some People Kurt Hummel'**

Everyone clapped at the end of the song. Although he had done a great job, for some reason, it wasn't up to the caliber of his usually stellar performances.

"Great job, buddy." Mr. Schue said. "Um… look, I loved the performance but can I please give you some feedback, again, just as a caring fan?"

"Sure." Kurt replied nervously.

"Um… so you know how that song was sung with great fanfare by Broadway legends such as Merman, LaPone, Bernadette. Those are some awfully big shoes to fill and I just think… I'm not quite sure you've done that. Maybe next time, pick a slightly less well-used song and use your energy into making an absolute unique cover?"

Kurt nodded but his insides were in turmoil. With that feedback, he surely wasn't getting the solo. Up in the stands, Finn turned to Emily, who was sitting next to him.

"Did you understand a word of what he just said? Because for me, it was like he was speaking Japanese."

Emily giggled.

"Hey! At least I know I'm not the only one." She responded. Finn snorted, and the two of them both turned their attention back to the stage, where Santana was getting ready to perform.

"So, Santana, what are you singing for us today?" Mr. Schue asked.

"I'll be singing Amy Whinehouse's Back To Black."

Mr. Schue whistled in shock and interest.

"Wow. Big song. Iconic song. Take it away, Santana."

_He left no time to regret_

_Kept his dick wet_

_With his same old safe bet_

_Me and my head high_

_And my tears dry_

_Get on without my guy_

_You went back to what you knew_

_So far removed from all that we went through_

_And I tread a troubled track_

_My odds are stacked_

_I'll go back to black_

_We only said goodbye with words_

_I died a hundred times_

_You go back to her_

_And I go back to..._

_I go back to us_

_I love you much_

_It's not enough_

_You love blow and I love puff_

_And life is like a pipe_

_And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside_

_We only said goodbye with words_

_I died a hundred times_

_You go back to her_

_And I go back to..._

_We only said goodbye with words_

_I died a hundred times_

_You go back to her_

_And I go back to..._

_Black, black, black, black, black, black, black_

_I go back to..._

_I go back to..._

_We only said goodbye with words_

_I died a hundred times_

_You go back to her_

_And I go back to..._

_We only said goodbye with words_

_I died a hundred times_

_You go back to her_

_And I go back to black_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=Btjdpj_Vr1s**

**Or search… 'Back to Black Glee'**

At the end of the song, everyone cheered. It was an amazing performance from Santana and it was probably her best performance in the Glee club.

"Wow, Santana. That was amazing." Mr. Schue said. "Three years ago, when you joined this club, you joined as a back up singer to Quinn. Now, you're truly grown into your skin and you're an incredible singer. We're going to take a quick break before we hear from Finn and Emily but you two have got your work cut out for you because these performances have all been fantastic so far!"


	21. Chapter 21

"Mr. Schuester sucks." Kurt said, storming into the choir room where the auditioning performers were sitting during the break. "He said that I need to pick a less iconic Broadway song. I make my living singing iconic Broadway songs."

"I think the winner of 4 show choir championships from when he was a student might be able to give us all some valuable insight."

"Easy for you to say. He favourites you to death. Hell, I'm surprised he hasn't bought you a throne and crown yet."

"Hey! I'm just the best singer. Don't use the fact that you think Mr. Schue likes me as an excuse for my inevitable win. He's just gonna vote for whoever does best."

"That would be me." Santana chimed in. "You guys can fight over who's gonna come in second all you want, because I kicked that song square in the balls. I'm so gonna win this thing."

"You're crazy, Santana. I've got this in the bag." Mercedes said.

"Are you kidding, Cedes? It's mine and you know it." Kurt said. The four of them then turned to Emily and Finn, who were watching from the back of the room.

"What?" Emily asked. The four Glee club veterans rolled their eyes.

"Well? Aren't you guys going to say anything to back yourselves up?" Mercedes asked. Finn shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't really care about trash talking you guys. If I get the solo, I get the solo. If I don't, I don't." Emily said. Everyone then turned to Finn. He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me! Unlike you guys, I actually have a life outside of Glee club. My song literally took less than an hour for me to put together last night."

Before anyone could say anything else, Mr. Schue walked into the room and they were brought back to the auditorium for Finn and Emily's audition.

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"OK, Emily, you're up next. What are you singing today?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Um… I'm going to be singing one of my favourite songs - Rule the World by Take That, but my own version of it." She replied. Mr. Schue smiled.

"OK, go ahead."

_You light, the skies up above me_

_A star, so bright you blind me_

_Don't close your eyes_

_Don't fade away_

_Don't fade away_

_Yeah you and me we can ride on a star_

_If you stay with me girl, we can rule the world_

_Yeah you and me we can light up the sky_

_If you stay by my side, we can rule the world._

_If walls break down, I will comfort you_

_If angels cry, oh I'll be there for you_

_You've saved my soul_

_Don't leave me now_

_Don't leave me now_

_Yeah you and me we can ride on a star_

_If you stay with me girl, we can rule the world_

_Yeah you and me we can light up the sky_

_If you stay by my side, we can rule the world._

_All the stars are coming out tonight_

_They're lighting up the sky tonight_

_For you_

_For you_

_All the stars are coming out tonight_

_They're lighting up the sky tonight_

_For you_

_For you,_

_Yeah you and me we can ride on a star_

_If you stay with me girl, we can rule the world_

_Yeah you and me we can light up the sky_

_If you stay by my side, we can rule the world._

_All the stars are coming out tonight_

_They're lighting up the sky tonight_

_For you_

_For you_

_All the stars are coming out tonight_

_They're lighting up the sky tonight_

_For you_

_For you_

_[repeat]_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=8XSn3oJIWqM &ab_channel=ChrisB**

**Or search… 'Rule the World Ella Henderson'**

At the end of the song, everyone cheered and clapped. As much as they all wanted the solo, nobody could deny that she was a level higher than anyone else. Throughout the song, her eyes kept drifting to the tall, brunette guy at the corner of the room. Over the past couple of weeks, ever since rehab to be honest, she had started to develop romantic feelings towards Finn. He was so kind and sweet and caring towards her and was her best friend by a long way. They spent so much together that it was almost inevitable that she was going to start having feelings for him. However, she could never tell him. She knew better than anyone how tough his life had been and she couldn't risk losing him as a friend by stupidly revealing her feelings and them being unrequited.

Ironically, Finn was feeling the exact same way. So close yet so far.

"Emily…" Mr. Schue started and then paused. "That was brilliant. It was unique, it was creative. It was exactly what I was looking for in this solo. Well done."

Emily beamed and took her place back in the audience. She had pretty much cemented her place in the final two and had shocked the whole Glee club.

"OK, last but not least, Finn. What have you got for us?"

Finn stood up and walked to the stage.

"Um… I didn't really have the time to make my own cover of a song, so I decided to just write my own song. It was just about an hour's work so it's not too great."

"Well, let me be the judge of that. What's the song called?"

Finn thought for a moment.

"Waves. The song is called Waves."

"Isn't that already a Dean Lewis song?" Mercedes called out from her place in the audience. Finn shrugged.

"Whatever. This is my own song." Finn said. He took a deep breath. The song meant so much to him. More than anyone could possibly know. He started gently plucking the strings of his electric guitar…

_My face above the water_

_My feet can't touch the ground,_

_Touch the ground, and it feels like_

_I can see the sands on the horizon_

_Every time you are not around_

_I'm slowly drifting away (drifting away)_

_Wave after wave, wave after wave_

_I'm slowly drifting (drifting away)_

_And it feels like I'm drowning_

_Pulling against the stream_

_Pulling against the stream_

_I wish I could make it easy_

_Easy to love me, love me_

_But still I reach_

_To find a way_

_I'm stuck here in between_

_I'm looking for the right words to say_

_I'm slowly drifting (drifting away)_

_Wave after wave, wave after wave_

_I'm slowly drifting (drifting away)_

_And it feels like I'm drowning_

_Pulling against the stream_

_Pulling against the stream_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=0a5WyAjL1MM**

**Or search… 'Waves Mr. Probz'**

The song was heart-wrenching, even though none of them knew what it was about. The pain and sorrow in Finn's voice was unmatchable by anyone in the Glee club. Hell, probably anyone in the whole show choir competition. Finn had been through more in the past year than many go through in a lifetime.

"Finn… that was…" Mr. Schue was struggling to find words to describe that performance. "So emotional. It was gorgeous. Did you seriously write that yourself?"

Finn nodded.

"Yeah, it didn't take too long to write either. It's still pretty rough around the edges."

"Um… no, it wasn't." Mr. Schue said. "It was amazing as it was. The emotion and the pain you put into your voice… it's unique."

"Garbage! This whole thing is rigged!" Rachel cried. "You're just going to give the two final spots to the new kids! I get including the group, Mr. Schue. Trust me I do. But this is Regionals. This is the big leagues! We can't have amateurs running around screwing it up for us!"

"Hold on, Rachel. Like I said before, I might be making the call on the two finalists, but you all will be voting on who YOU want singing in Regionals. I make the call here."

"Well, then, make it." Mercedes demanded.

"Look, out of respect to you all, I'm going to sleep on it tonight. I will let you all know by tomorrow." Mr. Schue decided. "Great job, everyone."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"What do you think he was singing about?" Mercedes asked. The next day, the whole Glee club - minus Finn and Emily - were sitting in the choir room, waiting for Mr. Schue to arrive so he could announce the two finalists for the solo. Although they hated to admit it, Rachel and Kurt knew, at the bottom of their hearts, that they were pretty much out of the running and it would ultimately come down to Mercedes, Santana, Finn or Emily.

"I don't know." Artie replied. "But how much do we really know about Finn anyways?"

Everyone nodded.

"He likes cars?" Puck suggested. Everyone chuckled and rolled their eyes.

"Yeah, exactly. He's always been kind of a question mark, huh?" Mercedes remarked.

"Maybe the song was about Quinn?" Tina suggested.

"How so?" Mike asked his girlfriend.

"I mean think about the lyrics. 'I wish I could make it easy. Easy to love me, love me'. What else could that be about?" Tina pointed out. Rachel shook her head.

"No. He's talking about drifting away and drowning. That can't be about Quinn. That's gotta be more personal." She remarked.

"Maybe it's not necessarily about him not being over Quinn, but it's about the whole baby paternity situation in general." Santana suggested. "I think we all kind of brushed everything under the rug for Quinn's benefit. No offense Q. It's just it's pretty hard to be mad at a pregnant teenager whose life is unraveling."

"Gee, thanks Santana." Quinn replied, rolling her eyes.

"Look, I can guarantee you guys the song is not about Quinn, okay?" A voice said from the entrance of the choir room. Everyone turned to the doorway, where Emily and Finn were walking through at that moment.

"Finally! Are you guys done making out under the bleachers?" Puck asked. Finn and Emily looked at each other in disgust, which was only to mask their looks of longing.

"What, NO! We weren't making out!" Emily cried. .

"It was a joke. Chill out. Finn isn't man enough to do something like that." Puck replied. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Man enough to kick your ass." He threatened, jokingly. Puck didn't say anything more to that end as he knew Finn was right: Puck wouldn't stand a chance in a fight.

"So…" Mercedes asked Finn after a few moments of silence.

"Huh?" Finn responded, confused.

"What was the song about?! We're dying to know!" Mercedes exclaimed. Finn shook his head.

"Sorry, guys. Some secrets need to stay secret. But trust me, it's not about a girl. You have my word on that. It's way deeper than that. As Puck so astutely pointed out, I'm not really one for romance anyways."

At that moment, Mr. Schue bounded into the room.

"Hey, guys! How's it going, today?" He asked.

"Good." They all replied.

"Who are the two finalists?" Kurt demanded. Mr. Schue laughed.

"Getting straight down to business. I like it." He joked. "So, I was replaying all of the performances in my head last night, and trust me when I say this… it was a VERY hard decision. You all sang fabulously. My gut tells me one thing, my brain tells me another, and my heart tells me something different. But I decided to go with my heart."

"Oh, great! Berry got the solo again!" Santana spat. Rachel leapt to her feet.

"Mr. Schue, thank you so much! I won't let you down!"

"Hold on, Rachel!" Mr. Schue said, holding up a hand. "I'm sorry to say that you did not get one of the two finalist spots. Performing another ballad at the end of this week, the two finalists are… Emily and Finn!"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"So what was the song about?" Emily asked. Her and Finn were hanging out in Emily's house. Her parents were but they were still allowed to sit in the bedroom without her parents getting worried or over-protective. They had met Finn several times before and although both rooted for the two to get together, they knew that Finn was like a brother to Emily, and he was practically a son to them.

Finn sighed.

"Um… can I trust you?" Finn asked. Emily raised an eyebrow.

"You know, the fact that you have to ask is kind of insulting." She replied. Finn chuckled.

"You're right. I trust you as much as my family so I might as well tell you. You can't tell anyone in the New Directions, agreed?"

"Agreed. Is everything okay?" She asked, gently placing a hand on his. Finn took a deep breath and shook his head.

"No. Everything's not okay. You know how I sorta have an… alcohol problem. First, after my crash. Then when I was transferred to Lima. Then after the whole Quinn's baby situation."

Emily nodded.

"Yeah, but you're sober now, right?"

"I was. 30 days. And I was doing great until a week ago." He murmured, quietly. "Me and my racing buddy, Josh, were in a bar after training. I had ordered water and he had ordered a vodka. Somehow, the bartender messed up whose drink was whose and…"

"You took a sip?" She asked. Finn nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, I did. And every since, I've been feeling this feeling. Like I'm being pulled down to the depths of hell, and I'm fighting to stay out. Like I'm drowning, and I'm being pulled to the bottom of the ocean. I'm losing the fight. I'm not strong enough. And soon, I'm going to snap again, and I don't think my family are going to be strong enough to pull me back out."

Emily was speechless. She was honestly lost for words. She wasn't expecting something so deep. When she finally regained her voice, she shook her head.

"No. You're not going to slip away. This time's different." She said decisively.

"How are you so sure?" Finn asked.

"Because this time you've got me at your side and I'm not going to let you. You're my best friend in the whole world. I can't lose you, Finn."

Then, almost simultaneously, they both leaned in and kissed…


	22. Chapter 22

Finn and Emily only broke apart for oxygen.

"Um…" Finn stammered, unable to put words together. His head was spinning.

"Wow…" Emily whispered. She was just as speechless as he was. They both laughed quietly.

"Um… not that I'm complaining or anything, but what was that all about?" Finn asked.

"Finn…" Emily took a deep breath and closed her eyes before speaking. "I hate any kind of physical exercise, but I went to rehab every single day for a month. There's a reason for that: YOU. You made my car accident aftermath not only manageable, but one of the best months of my life. You're so sweet to me, and I really like you. I know that we're friends, but I don't want that. Ever since the day we first met, I've had a crush on you. I mean, you're nice, kind, sweet, funny…" She nodded her head, biting down on her lip. A sigh escaped her lips as she looked down at the floor; she didn't know if she was making the right decision or not. "I want to be more than friends, Finn."

"Then let's be more than friends." Finn whispered, kissing her lips gently. Emily's eyes widened.

"Really? You want that?" She asked. Finn nodded.

"Truth be told, I've been feeling the same way." He replied. "I want to be your boyfriend and you, my girlfriend. I want to be able to take you out to dinner, hold you, kiss you. So Emily Cahill, will you be my girlfriend?"

Emily beamed at him.

"Yes, of course, you dummy!" She exclaimed, diving on top of him and kissing him fiercely.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The week went by in the blink of an eye. Finn was blissfully happy. It was like every part of his life had come together - he was racing better than he had ever had before, he was one of the two finalists for the Regionals solo, and he was dating the most amazing girl in the world. Dating Emily was so easy and great because they already knew so much about each other, so they were able to skip the 'getting to know each other' part of the relationship.

Today was the day Finn and Emily would be performing their audition song for the Regionals solo. Finn had pulled out all the stops for his song - he went for one of the most iconic songs of all time but created his own, unique cover of it.

When Finn left his car, he walked into the school building and towards the long row of lockers. He immediately saw Emily standing over by her locker, putting some books in her bag, and he walked over. She hadn't seen him yet, so he wrapped an arm around her. She immediately tensed up.

"Hey beautiful." He whispered in her year. She relaxed when she realised it was her boyfriend, and she turned around and beamed at him.

"Hey you." She said, brushing his lips with her own.

"Are you ready for your audition today?" Finn asked. Emily nodded.

"Am I ready? I'm going to wipe the floor with you." She joked. Finn laughed.

"Haha, very funny." Finn responded. "In your dreams. I really care about you and all, but I'm taking no prisoners today."

"Good luck with that. I've got this in the bag. I was practising all night." Emily said.

"Yeah, well good for you. Now let's get to Glee rehearsal." Finn said, pulling her into a kiss. She giggled and tried to pull away but Finn was too strong and he had her backed up against the lockers.

"Finn, we have to go." She exclaimed, giggling.

"So we're a few minutes late. So sue us." He shrugged. Emily laughed again and deepened the kiss. Before long, Coach Sylvester came around the corner.

"HEY! LOVEBIRDS! BREAK IT UP!"

Finn and Emily rolled their eyes and reluctantly pulled apart. They walked hand in hand into Glee rehearsal, ready to sing their asses off…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Finally!" Santana exclaimed as they walked into the auditorium. "Look, we're happy you guys are dating - you're kind of perfect for each other - but we're not about to sit around waiting as you two make out in the hallway!"

Finn and Emily blushed.

"Chill out, Santana. We weren't making out. We were preparing for our audition songs. You know, the ones we're about to sing right now?" Emily said.

"Well… that's not exactly true." Finn murmured. Emily turned to her boyfriend and raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, I just got just out of this!" Emily exclaimed. Everyone laughed, and Finn shrugged.

"Sorry! You know I don't lie!" Finn remarked. Just then, Mr. Schue walked into the room and smiled at the Glee club, who were all sitting in the front row of the auditorium.

"Hey, hey, hey. How's it going, guys? Finn, Emily, are you two ready?"

"Yeah." Finn and Emily both replied.

"Good, because you both need to pull off great performances. You need to show me and everyone else why I chose you two as finalists."

"We already know why you chose them. They're the new kids and you want to make them feel welcome." Mercedes grumbled. Mr. Schue shook his head, furiously.

"No, you're wrong Mercedes. I chose them because, whether you like it or not, they had the best performances. And you're all about to see it for yourself. Emily, if you'd like to go first. Which ballad are you going to sing for us?"

"Um… I'm going to sing my favourite song. It's a pretty big song so I'm just hoping I can give it the justice it deserves."

"Don't hold your breaths." Mercedes muttered under her breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear her.

"Mercedes, stop talking. You lost. Move on." Mr. Schue responded, before turning back to Emily. "What are you singing, Emily?"

"I'm singing Demi Lovato's Skyscraper." She said, before walking over to the mic.

_Skies are crying, I am watching_

_Catching tear drops in my hands_

_Only silence as it's ending_

_Like we never had a chance_

_Do you have to make me feel like_

_There's nothing left of me?_

_You can take everything I have_

_You can break everything I am_

_Like I'm made of glass_

_Like I'm made of paper_

_Go on and try to tear me down_

_I will be rising from the ground_

_Like a skyscraper_

_Like a skyscraper_

_As the smoke clears, I awaken_

_And untangle you from me_

_Would it make you feel better_

_To watch me while I bleed?_

_All my windows still are broken_

_But I'm standing on my feet_

_You can take everything I have_

_You can break everything I am_

_Like I'm made of glass_

_Like I'm made of paper_

_Go on and try to tear me down_

_I will be rising from the ground_

_Like a skyscraper_

_Like a skyscraper_

_Go run, run, run_

_I'm gonna stay right here,_

_Watch you disappear_

_Yeah, oh_

_Go run, run, run_

_Yeah, it's a long way down_

_But I am closer to the clouds up here_

_You can take everything I have_

_You can break everything I am_

_Like I'm made of glass_

_Like I'm made of paper_

_Oh Oh_

_Go on and try to tear me down_

_I will be rising from the ground_

_Like a skyscraper_

_Like a skyscraper_

_(Like a skyscraper)_

_Like a skyscraper_

_Like a skyscraper_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=5V18yk6nIMY &ab_channel=TheXFactorUK**

**Or search… 'Sam Bailey Skyscraper'**

At the end of the song, everyone, including Mercedes, clapped and cheered. She did an undeniably brilliant rendition of the ever-popular Demi Lovato hit. It was such a meaningful, deep song and she sure as hell did it justice. Mr. Schue even stood up and gave her a standing ovation.

"Wow, amazing job Emily! Mercedes, what were you saying about Emily not deserving her spot?" Mr. Schue asked, smirking triumphantly at his student. Mercedes blushed furiously.

"Nothing." She muttered in reply. Emily then walked off stage and took her seat next to Finn. He squeezed her hand and kissed her.

"Babe, that was incredible." He exclaimed. Emily beamed at him.

"Thanks. You're going to do great too." She said. Finn sighed.

"I hope so." He replied. The good thing about this audition was that he was competing against the person he cared about most in the world so no matter the result, there would be no hard feelings.

"OK Finn, the bar has been set. It's now up to you to meet it. What have you got for us today?" Mr. Schue asked. Finn stood up and walked over to the microphone.

"Well, I am going to be singing one of _my_ favourite songs. It's completely different from my last audition song. I'm singing Feeling Good by Nina Simone."

_Birds flying high_

_You know how I feel_

_Sun in the sky_

_You know how I feel_

_Breeze driftin' on by_

_You know how I feel_

_It's a new dawn_

_It's a new day_

_It's a new life_

_For me_

_And I'm feeling good_

_I'm feeling good_

_Fish in the sea_

_You know how I feel_

_River running free_

_You know how I feel_

_Blossom on a tree_

_You know how I feel_

_It's a new dawn_

_It's a new day_

_It's a new life_

_For me_

_And I'm feeling good_

_Dragonfly out in the sun_

_You know what I mean,_

_Don't you know?_

_Butterflies all havin' fun_

_You know what I mean_

_Sleep in peace when day is done_

_That's what I mean_

_And this old world_

_Is a new world_

_And a bold world_

_For me_

_For me_

_Stars when you shine_

_You know how I feel_

_Scent of the pine_

_You know how I feel_

_Oh freedom is mine_

_And I know how I feel_

_It's a new dawn_

_It's a new day_

_It's a new life_

_It's a new dawn_

_It's a new day_

_It's a new life_

_It's a new dawn_

_It's a new day_

_It's a new life_

_It's a new life_

_For me_

_And I'm feeling good_

_I'm feeling good_

_I feel so good_

_I feel so good_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=c_9sKGKkznw &ab_channel=TheXFactorUK**

**Or search… 'James Arthur Feeling Good'**

"Wow, well done, Finn! That was amazing! So much passion in that performance!" Mr. Schue exclaimed when Finn was done singing. It was probably simultaneously the most difficult and most fun song he had ever sung.

"Thanks, Mr. Schue." He replied.

"So, I'm sure everyone has a lot to think about. We'll take a five minute recess and then you can all vote."

**5 minutes later…**

"Finn." Puck said.

"Finn." Quinn said.

"Emily." Sam said.

"Emily." Kurt said.

"Emily." Rachel said.

"Finn." Mercedes said.

"Emily." Brittany said.

"Finn." Santana said.

"Finn." Mike said.

"Emily." Tina said.

5-5. It would truly come down to the final vote - Artie's vote. Both performances had been epic and it was so hard to choose a winner.

"Artie? Who do you pick?" Mr. Schue said.

"Um… I… um… I…" Artie stammered. "I don't know! They were both so good!" He exclaimed.

"You gotta pick one, buddy." Mr. Schue said. "Finn or Emily?"

"I guess, if I had to choose one of the performances to be our Regionals solo, I'd have to go with…" Artie paused. "Finn."

Finn smiled widely. Him and Emily quickly hugged and kissed in a show of good sportsmanship, before Finn stood up.

"Um… thanks guys. I won't let you down." He said.

"You'd better not." Rachel replied. "Now, as the leader and best singer in the Glee club, I think I should coach you 3 times a day. We can work from 7 to 8 before school, during lunch period…"

Finn tuned out as Rachel babbled about rehearsals. He didn't really care about whatever Rachel was saying. He was so happy. As him and Emily kissed at the end of rehearsal, they didn't even notice Quinn and Sam storming out of the room in anger.

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That night, Sam and Quinn met under the bleachers for a secret discussion. Both of them were outraged about what had happened a couple of hours prior - not about who got the solo, but about who he/she was dating. Quinn's returning feelings for Finn were pretty obvious, however nobody knew about Sam's feelings for Emily. Ever since she arrived, Sam had felt a pulling sensation towards her. The only thing standing in their way was the undeniable love the current couple had for each other.

"You like Emily?" Quinn asked, breaking the eerie silence that was in the air.

"You like Finn?" Sam retorted back. Quinn blushed.

"Shut up."

"Right back at you." Sam replied. A look of determination danced in Quinn's eyes.

"I think you know what we need to do." Quinn said. Sam nodded. The next sentence, they spoke in unison.

"We need to break them up…"


	23. Chapter 23

Sam and Quinn concocted a plan that night. Given Finn's history with Quinn, Quinn knew him well enough to know exactly what strings to pull to slowly destroy Finn and Emily's relationship. Too much and people would get suspicious. Too little and they wouldn't even notice. No, they had to do everything just right. The first part of their plan began the next morning and if all went well, Finn and Emily would both be single in three weeks time…

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"Where the hell is anyone? Normally I'm the last one here." Finn said. It was Friday morning and Finn and Emily were sitting in the choir room, waiting for Glee to start. Weirdly, it was 20 minutes past the starting time and the only people in the room were Finn, Emily and Mr. Schue. Even people like Rachel and Kurt, who were NEVER late, weren't present.

"I don't know. Where could they be?" Emily asked.

"Maybe they got stuck in traffic." Mr. Schue suggested. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"All 11 of them? Somehow I doubt that." Finn replied. Mr. Schue sighed.

"Look, you two are dismissed for today. I'm going to be having some serious words with the rest of the group tomorrow because this is just ridiculous! Regionals are in 4 weeks. We can't have people just skiving rehearsals. Every second counts."

Finn and Emily stood up and left the room. They had an hour to kill until the start of school and didn't really know what to do.

"Bleachers?" Finn suggested. Emily smiled.

"Sure." She replied, taking his hand. The two of them walked outside together and when they made it to the bleachers, they realised that they were already occupied with the New Directions.

"Um… what are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you all be in the choir room?" Finn asked. Mercedes shook her head.

"No, we shouldn't because we're boycotting Glee club." Mercedes replied. Emily raised an eyebrow.

"Um… what?" Emily asked.

"You heard her. We're boycotting Glee club." Kurt said, repeating his friend's statement.

"Well, may I ask why?" Finn asked, perplexed. What the hell was going on? He was the least invested in the Glee club out of all of them and even he was invested enough not to boycott the club.

"You." Rachel replied. "You're the reason we're boycotting. You and your girlfriend. We realised something this morning: we have spent the past three years pouring our blood, sweat and tears into this club. Now, we finally have the means and opportunity to make it to Nationals and you, a NEW kid this year - show up and steal the glory. NO MORE. All of us deserve the solo more than you, and frankly, we all need it more. Unlike you, some of us actually want to go to college and study music and soloing at Regionals could be our ticket. So you're going to step down from your solo and let one of the veterans have it. Understand?"

Finn sighed.

"Yeah, fine, whatever. Take the solo." Finn murmured, trying hard to avoid conflict. Emily, on the other hand, wasn't. She raised a hand.

"Hold on a second!" She shouted, enraged. "You can't do that! You can't penalise him for being better than you all! And if you truly care about the Glee club, don't you want what's best for the team? Which means Finn soloing and you know it." She snapped. The rest of the group shook their heads.

"That's not true! Finn has no experience performing in high pressure environments! Us veterans do, so we should be the ones soloing!"

"That's bullshit and you know it!" Emily spat back. Finn put a hand on her shoulder.

"Em, It's not worth it. It's okay" Finn murmured.

"NO! It's not okay! You can't just let yourself get pushed around, Finn!" She exclaimed. Finn shrugged.

"It's fine. Taking one for the team, I guess." He said. Emily clenched her fists.

"God! You're such a pushover!" She cried. Finn sighed and looked down.

"And that's my queue to leave. I'm out of here." He said, and he started to walk away. He barely a hundred meters before Emily caught up with him.

"Oh, no! You're not walking away from the argument like you always do! You never stand up for yourself! You need to grow a fucking pair!"

Finn's face went from anger to sadness to unreadable in a matter of seconds.

"See you around, Emily." Finn said before quickly walking away. Emily put her head in her hands and started to cry. She couldn't believe what she had just said. She had just insulted the kindest person in the world, quite possibly ruining the best relationship she had ever had. She had been hurt A LOT by exes before, but Finn was different. He looked past her attractive looks and he liked her for who she was on the inside. Well, he used to like her. Who knows what was going to happen now?

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Emily didn't see Finn that whole weekend. She went by his house once on Saturday, only to find that he wasn't there. With any of her other boyfriends, she would have been worried that something bad was going on. However, Finn was not like any of her boyfriends. She knew that he would always be faithful to her. But there was still a tiny part of her that worried. What if he was cheating on her? For the first time in the three relationships that had ended that way, it wouldn't even be entirely Finn's fault. She didn't deserve someone like Finn. He deserved better.

On Monday, when Emily walked into school, she was pretty anxious. Normally, Finn picked her up on the way to school and they drove together but today, Finn didn't come so she was forced to drive to school herself. She knew that she needed to apologise to Finn and she was walking down the corridor, looking for him when she was stopped by Sam.

"Hey, Emily. Did you happen to speak to Finn this weekend?" He asked, 'innocently.' Emily shook her head and sighed.

"No. I think he ghosted me all weekend." Emily replied. "I need to apologise to him. Do you know where I can find him?"

Sam put on a face of 'sympathy.'

"Emily, there's something you should know." Sam said. "Look, you can't ask me how I know, but I think…" Sam paused for a moment before continuing. "I think Finn's cheating on you with Quinn."

Emily's heart dropped. She felt like a bucket of frigid water had been dumped over her. It took everything for her to stay calm and not completely break down.

"Thank you for telling me, Sam. I really need to find Finn now. See you around." She said before taking off down the corridor. She needed to find Finn. NOW! Eventually she found him by the water fountain, filling his water bottle. She dragged him away. Once they were out of earshot, she turned to him, staring daggers at him.

"We're done." She spat. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Um… huh?" He asked, confused.

"Don't you dare play dumb, Finn. I know." She shouted. Finn looked just as confused.

"Um… huh?" Finn repeated, even more confused now.

"I know that you cheated on me, and don't you even try and deny it! Sam told you!"

"Sam told you?" Finn stammered, confused. Suddenly, it hit him. Sam had a crush on Emily! That's why he convinced the Glee club to boycott! Sam didn't care about solos or college; he just wanted to sleep with Emily.

"Wait… it's true?!" Emily yelled, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. She couldn't believe it. The man she loved was cheating on her!

"NO!" Finn replied. "Look, I don't know what Sam told you but it's not true." Finn replied.

"Oh yeah? Then where were you last weekend, and don't say your house because I dropped by and you weren't there?"

"I was in Columbus. My best friend, Josh, and I decided to spend the whole weekend on the circuit practising for the first race of the season that's next week. I just crashed at his place. No offense but after Friday, I kinda needed time away from you as well."

Emily shook her head. Although his story made sense, she had a nagging feeling that he was lying.

"No, you're lying. I want proof." She said. Finn raised an eyebrow and his jaw dropped.

"Excuse me?" He asked, disbelievingly. "Proof? How about trust me? I can't believe this! After all we've been through together, you believe some douche who just wants to sleep with you over your own boyfriend? You know what, screw this! Get away from me." Finn spat, barging past Emily and storming down the corridor. Emily clenched her jaw. That was NOT the language of the innocent. Hell, he didn't even deny it! Could there really be a chance that Finn was cheating on her?

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"Hey guys, how was your weekend?" Mr. Schue asked. Nobody responded. They all had pretty crappy weekends after the events of Friday. Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow. "Yeesh. Blast of cold air there! What happened guys?"

Finn stood up.

"Mr. Schue. Before we start, I've gotta say something. I'm stepping down from my solo in Regionals." He said. Mr. Schue's eyes widened.

"Um… may I ask why?" He asked. Finn shrugged.

"Well, honestly, I was kinda blackmailed into quitting by the rest of the club. They threatened to quit the club unless I stepped down. I know how much Nationals means to you so I'm just taking one for the team."

Mr. Schue's jaw dropped and anger etched across his face.

"Excuse me? Please tell me I'm not hearing this right! You guys threatened to QUIT?" Mr. Schue shouted. Nobody responded. Finn shrugged.

"Mr. Schue, it's honestly fine. I've got racing season starting this weekend anyways so I'm going to have to miss some rehearsals as it is."

Mr. Schue sighed.

"Fine. Someone else can have the solo. I'll decide that in the coming days. But I want you guys to know that I'm VERY disappointed in you all. This is not how New Directions are supposed to behave! If Regionals weren't two weeks away, I would be pulling us out of the competition."

Nobody spoke. They were all so ashamed at what they had done. They had driven out their best singer for completely selfish reasons. A guy who had been nothing but kind to all of them.

"Now, let's put this behind us. I had a fun lesson planned for today. If you want, I can give you guys today off and we can try again tomorrow."

"No, let's start now." Tina said. "Extra practise, right? Every second counts."

Mr. Schue nodded.

"Right. So our topic for today is… duets!"

Everyone smiled and cheered. Duets were always a fun topic.

"That's great, Mr. Schue. But not all of us are dating someone so…" Kurt said. Mr. Schue grinned.

"That's the beauty of this assignment. You're not going to be singing with your significant other, nor are you guys going to be preparing." He said, and then revealed two hats filled with slips of paper. "So… what's going to happen is ladies, you are going to pick a slip from hat number one, revealing your duet partner. Every guys' name is in the hat. No exceptions. Then, you are going to randomly choose a slip from hat number two. This will be the song you will be singing. Understand?"

"Yeah." They all chorussed back. Mr. Schue smiled and nodded.

"Cool. So, who would like to go first?" Mr. Schue asked. Quinn raised her hand.

"Could I?" She asked. Mr. Schue nodded and she walked to the front of the room and over to the hat. Little did Mr. Schue know, her and Sam had planned every moment of this. They had hacked onto his school computer account and added this assignment to his youtube recommendations. Then, a couple of hours before class, when she saw Mr. Schue writing the names, she had stuck Finn's slip in the freezer. She only took it out right before rehearsal so it was still freezing, much colder than the others. Sure enough, she pulled a name from the hand and read it out to the group…

"Finn." She said, smiling at him. Emily visibly paled as Finn stood up and walked to the front of the room to stand next to Quinn.

"Um… Mr. Schue? Could I please switch? You know, given mine and Quinn's history…"

Mr. Schue shook his head.

"Sorry, Finn. The hat wants what the hat wants." He replied. Finn closed his eyes and groaned. This was probably the worst thing that could possibly be happening, especially given his rocky relationship with Emily.

"Fine." He muttered. "What song are we singing?"

"Well, Quinn, why don't you pick a song?" Mr. Schue suggested.

Once again, Quinn had planned all of this. She pulled out a slip and showed it to Finn. He put his head in his hands.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." He muttered. To make matters worse, he would be singing I'm Not the Only One - a song about cheating - with his ex-girlfriend and to his current girlfriend, who thought he was cheating with said ex.

"All right. Let's do this, I guess." He spat. He picked up an electric guitar, quickly tuned it, and then they began singing their impromptu duet.

_You and me, we made a vow_

_For better or for worse_

_I can't believe you let me down_

_But the proof's in the way it hurts_

_For months on end I've had my doubts_

_Denying every tear_

_I wish this would be over now_

_But I know that I still need you here_

As they were about to go into the first chorus, Finn noticed Emily's face reddening with anger. He forced himself to keep singing.

_You say I'm crazy_

_'Cause you don't think I know what you've done_

_But when you call me baby_

_I know I'm not the only one_

_You've been so unavailable_

_Now sadly I know why_

_Your heart is unobtainable_

_Even though Lord knows you kept mine_

_You say I'm crazy_

_'Cause you don't think I know what you've done_

_But when you call me baby_

_I know I'm not the only one_

_I have loved you for many years_

_Maybe I am just not enough_

_You've made me realize my deepest fear_

_By lying and tearing us up_

_You say I'm crazy_

_'Cause you don't think I know what you've done_

_But when you call me baby_

_I know I'm not the only one_

_You say I'm crazy_

_'Cause you don't think I know what you've done_

_But when you call me baby_

_I know I'm not the only one_

At this point, Emily stormed out of the room. Finn bit his tongue. As much as he hated upsetting his girlfriend, it wasn't totally undeserved. After all, did he really want to be with someone who believed a jackass like Sam over him?

_I know I'm not the only one_

_I know I'm not the only one_

_And I know_

_And I know_

_And I know_

_And I know_

_And I know_

_And I don't know_

_I know I'm not the only one_


	24. Chapter 24

Finn's relationship with Emily was tearing at the seams. They were one step away from finally breaking up, and for Quinn and Sam's plan coming to fruition. Quinn and Sam never in a million years expected their plan to work so well, and they almost felt kind of bad. They were ripping apart a couple that were clearly meant to be together.

That afternoon, Finn was in Columbus but not on the race track. He was in the gym of the racing complex, and was beating the absolute crap out of a punching bag. He had so much raw anger that he needed to let out. So much pain. HOOK! JAB! HOOK! JAB! CROSS! UPPERCUT! Sweat dripped down Finn's forehead but he didn't dare stop, no matter how much his whole body ached. He had been working out for a solid two hours but he kept on going. Suddenly, the door of the gym swung open and Josh walked inside. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Finn.

"Rough day, buddy?" He asked. Finn glared at him.

"Just a little." He replied. "My girlfriend thinks I cheated on her over the weekend and I have no proof that I didn't, so that's just great." He remarked, sarcastically.

"Weren't you with me over the weekend?" He asked. Finn nodded. "Well then don't you have the instagram story I posted of the two of us at the track."

Finn's eyes widened and he smiled widely.

"Dude, you're a genius!" He exclaimed, fist-bumping his friend. Josh laughed.

"What can I say? I'm just that good. Life's a breeze when you're me, and you're going to feel that breeze when I zip past you on the race track this weekend."

Finn chuckled.

"Uh-huh. You wish, buddy. I'm taking home Sunday's race. Oh, speaking of which, what time do we leave for San Diego on Thursday?"

Josh raised and eyebrow and laughed.

"Um… bro, first of all, the race is in ALBUQUERQUE not San Diego. And we leave Thursday night. Around 7 pm, we're meeting here."

Finn nodded and stood up.

"Thanks, man. See you on Thursday, I guess." Finn said. Josh and him bro-handshaked and Finn left the building. It was almost 10 pm when he made it to Lima so he opted to go straight home and show Emily the IG story tomorrow. If only he had gone that night, maybe him and Emily would still be together…

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The next morning, Finn woke up, happy. He could finally get his relationship with Emily back on track. Despite everything that was happening, he still cared about Emily so much. He hadn't dated anyone since Dubai - all of his relationships since had been hookups and make outs in parties. He wasn't in the right mindset to be in a relationship at that point. But now, he was extremely happy with Emily and he didn't want to lose that. He walked into the school and made a beeline for Emily's locker. Luckily, she was standing there and Finn walked over to her. She scowled at him.

"Hey, Emily." He said.

"What?" She responded, shortly. She was still torn about whether Finn was cheating on her or not. On one hand, she trusted Finn more than anyone in the world - she would trust him with her life. But on the other, she couldn't completely ignore the fact that he was AWOL for a whole weekend and without knowing that he was AWOL, Sam said that he was cheating.

"You wanted proof that I wasn't cheating. You didn't trust me and that really, really stung." He said.

"Finn…" Emily started apologetically, before being cut off when Finn raised a hand.

"Please let me finish." He asked. "That really stung but I care about you more than my pride so I found proof." He said, showing her the various Instagram stories that Josh had posted from their weekend on the track. At the end, Emily put her head in her hands.

"Finn, I'm so sorry. I totally understand if you want to break up with me." She cried.

"Em, I'm not going to break up with you." He whispered. Emily's head shot up.

"You're not?" She asked, hopefully. Finn shook his head.

"No, I'm not, but can I ask one thing of you?" He asked. Emily nodded.

"Yes, anything!" She exclaimed.

"I ask that you trust me. Whether you like it or not, I plan on being with you for a long time, Emily Cahill. We need to promise each other that we're not going to let others sabotage our relationship. Deal?"

"Deal."

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"They're still together! How are they still together?!" Sam yelled at Quinn, who was sitting under the bleachers with him. Quinn put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sam, calm down! And lower your voice! Someone's gonna hear you!" She exclaimed.

"I'm sorry! I'm just pissed!" He spat. "How could they possibly still be together? We did everything right?"

"It's because they love each other." Quinn replied. "Sam… are we really doing the right thing? This seems pretty extreme."

Sam shook his head, furiously.

"No way you're backing out on me now, Fabray!" He growled.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I'm out." She said, before standing up and walking away from the bleachers. Sam sighed. If he wanted the plan to work, he really needed to step up his game. Luckily, he had a plan…

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Emily's first lesson of the day was History and Finn's was Math so the two of them split up to head to their various classes. In History class, Emily sat next to Kurt and the two of them watched as the teacher walked to the front of the room.

"Alright class, listen up!" The teacher announced. "I'm going to pair you guys into 2 and you will be working together on this project. You are going to create a poster about the Ancient Romans. It counts as 70 percent of your grade so you've got to work hard."

The class nodded in understanding and Emily tuned out as the teacher announced the pairings.

"Kurt and Santana…"

"Brittany with Jacob…"

"Puckerman with Azimio…"

"Emily and Sam…"

Emily's heart dropped and she turned her head to see Sam smirking wildly. This worked out better than he could've possibly imagined. Him being paired with Emily was completely arbitrary but it played right into his hand.

"Crap… Finn's not going to like this." Emily murmured, her head in her hands.

"He's not the jealous type is he?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know. I've never really seen Finn jealous before." She replied. Kurt put a hand on hers.

"Don't worry, sweetie. He loves you. You've got nothing to worry about."

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After Math Class, Finn's next class was Gym and they were playing football in Gym class so he put on full pads and walked out onto the field. They started with a couple of fitness drills which due to his gym training as part of racing, Finn flew through. He was by far the fittest person in the group. Ironic, considering most of them didn't even consider motor racing to be a sport. After the warm up drills, the group were split up into two teams to play a game. Due to numbers, they didn't have enough people to have an offensive and defensive line so they had to double over and play a position in both lines. Finn, although he didn't play for the school team, was his team's Quarterback due to his throwing power and accuracy, and the defensive end due to his incredible speed. Finn had been gifted with speed almost that of a sprinter and that combined with his power, made him a deadly force for an opposing QB to be up against. Fortunately for Finn, the opposing QB was the school's 'star Quarterback' and just happened to be the guy who tried to ruin his relationship with Emily… Sam.

The game started pretty evenly. Sam's team was made up of the majority of the offensive line of the school team so it was pretty difficult and frustrating for Finn to try and sack the QB. Eventually, the opportunity came…. It was third down and 15 with Sam's team in possession of the ball. They had to make a hail mary pass at that point and Finn's team knew it. When the ball was snapped to Sam, due to most of the team sprinting up the field to receive the ball, Finn was finally gifted that pocket of space that he was hunting for all game. Sam was exposed on one side! Using his blistering pace, Finn powered his way to him and before Sam could react, Finn tackled him. The two men hit the ground with a sickening "THUD" and Sam lay motionless on the ground. Coach Beiste ran over to them.

"Evans! Evans! Get up!" She shouted, yanking off his helmet and slapping his face gently. Sam groaned and slowly regained consciousness. As soon as he regained feeling in his body, he cried out in pain. That's when they all noticed…

Sam's arm was sticking out at a sickening angle. It was most definitely broken. Even Finn, who hated that guy with every fiber of his being, felt a little bad. He had pretty much ended Sam's football season. As Sam stood up, he limped over to Finn.

"You fucking happy now?" He growled. Finn shrugged.

"Maybe you should think about that the next time you try to break up one of my relationships." Finn spat back. "Stay the hell away from Emily, unless you want your other arm broken."

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't hear?" Sam chuckled before grimacing in pain. Finn's face went from anger to confusion.

"Hear what?" Finn asked. Sam smirked wildly at him.

"Well… in History, we were split into pairs for our project. Guess who my partner is…"

Before Finn could respond, the nurse arrived on the field and walked Sam off the field. Coach Beiste then stormed over to him.

"HUDSON! MY OFFICE! NOW!" She shouted. Finn looked down and followed her into the school building. He was in SO much trouble! No matter how bad of a player Sam was, he had still injured the school Quarterback! Finn was practically shoved into Beiste's office and he sat opposite her.

"Hudson, I don't even know what to say! You injured my Quarterback!" She shouted.

"I'm sorry, Coach. It was an accident." Finn said. Coach Beiste glared at him.

"I know. What I need to say is thank you." She said. Finn's mouth dropped. This was not how he imagined the conversation going.

"Um… pardon me?" He asked.

"You heard me. Thank you." She said again. "You know just as well as I do that Sam is not a good quarterback, and he's made even worse by his bad attitude. I was waiting for a reason to cut him from the team, but I refrained because I had no replacement."

"Oh, did you find a new QB?" Finn asked, confused. Coach Beiste smiled and nodded.

"Yup. You." She said. Finn laughed until he realised she was actually serious.

"Coach… I'm flattered but I'm too busy for that. I've got racing practise. I go to Columbus every other day for training."

"Tell you what?" Coach Beite suggested. "All of the days we do gym training for football practise, you don't have to be there. Whatever you're doing for racing is clearly getting the job done on that front. Football training on the field is every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. When do you go for racing practise?"

"Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday." he murmured. Coach Beiste grinned.

"Perfect, so you can still do all of your racing sessions and football practices then!" She exclaimed. Finn shook his head.

"Um… Coach…. Sorry but I'm not going to do it." Finn replied. "It's just too much stress. It would be too many responsibilities - Glee club, racing, football, as well as keeping up relationships with family and friends. There's only 24 hours in a day, and 7 days in a week."

"OK, at the end of the day, it's up to you." She said. Finn stood up.

"Sorry, Coach." He said, and then started to walk towards the door.

"Hold up, Hudson! You assaulted my Quarterback! That's 2 months of detention."

Finn's jaw dropped.

"Are you kidding? It was a perfectly legal tackle! I don't have the time for it!"

Coach Beiste shrugged.

"Sorry, Hudson. Rules are rules. Although, I'd be able to overlook the detentions if…"

Finn shook his head and groaned.

"No, don't say it. Please don't say it, coach." Finn murmured.

"You join the football team." She finished. Finn banged him head against the door frame in frustration.


	25. Chapter 25

"You're working with Sam for your History project?" Finn exclaimed, sliding onto the seat opposite Emily in the dining hall. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Hello to you too." She replied. "And yeah, I'm working with Sam. It's not like I had a choice. The teacher put us in partners. And by the way, what happened to trusting each other?"

"I trust you, baby. It's him who's the problem. God, I hate that guy so much. Every time I see him, I just want to…"

"Break his arm?" Emily asked, raising an eyebrow. Finn blushed.

"You heard about that?" He muttered. Emily nodded.

"Babe, the whole school heard about that!" Emily exclaimed. Finn looked down in shame.

"It wasn't my fault. It was a perfectly legal tackle. He's just… weak." Finn replied. Emily laughed.

"Yeah, right? Something tells me you went a little harder on him than you do everyone else."

Finn shrugged.

"Look, I might have channelled a little bit of anger into the tackle…"

"A little bit?" Emily giggled.

"A little bit." Finn confirmed and he leaned in and kissed his girlfriend. Just as their lips touched, Finn felt a hand hit him on the back. Reluctantly, he turned around. It was Sam, wearing a fire-engine red cast on his left arm.

"Can I help you?" Finn asked, shortly. Sam smirked, widely.

"Hey, Emily?" Sam asked. "Dinner at my house tonight while we work on the project?"

Finn clenched his hand into a fist and prepared to sock Finn in the face. Emily placed a hand in his and squeezed it gently, gesturing for him to calm down.

"Sam…" She started. "First of all, we're working at my house. There's no way in hell I feel comfortable going to your house alone. Second, I'm happy with Finn so if you'd just fuck off, that would be nice."

Finn snickered quietly at Sam's expression of shell-shock. Sam's non-injured hand clenched into a fist and Finn genuinely thought he was going to hit Emily so Finn quickly stood in between them and pushed Sam a couple of feet backwards. Sam put his face a couple of inches from Finn, squaring up to him, rage etched all over.

"Hey, Finn…" Sam murmured quietly but threateningly. "You ruined my life. You took my place on the football team; you took my place in the Glee club; you're dating the girl I should be dating. I swear to God, when I'm healed, I'm going to kill you."

Sam said this in all seriousness but Finn didn't even flinch. He locked eyes with the blonde and spat…

"I'd love to see you try. You know where to find me." Finn responded. Sam started to turn away but Finn grabbed him by the scruff of the collar so Sam would turn back to him. "Hey… one more thing. If you lay a finger on Emily, with God as my witness, you're going to be breathing through a straw for the rest of your life."

Sam stalked away at that point and when he was gone, Finn turned back to Emily, who was watching the whole exchange with an amused expression on her face.

"What?" Finn asked. Emily smirked.

"Sorry, it's just… that was so hot." She remarked. Finn chuckled.

"Thanks. I meant it though. If Sam tries anything, anything at all, please call me." Finn asked. Emily nodded and kissed her boyfriend. She pulled away a moment later with her eyebrow raised.

"Um… Finn?" She said.

"Yeah?"

"What did Sam mean when he said you took his place on the football team?" She asked. Finn sighed.

"Well, when I broke Sam's arm, Coach Beiste kind of blackmailed me into joining the football team." Finn admitted. Emily's eyes widened.

"Blackmailed you?" She asked. Finn nodded.

"Yeah, she said that I could either take 2 months of detention, or I could join the football team."

"And you chose the football?" Emily asked. Finn shrugged.

"Well… yeah. It was the obvious choice."

Emily giggled.

"What?" Finn asked.

"Let me guess… you only picked the football option because you would be stealing Sam's spot on the team." She commented. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"No! Of course not! Why do you say that?"

"Well, football season lasts from the beginning of February - the beginning of June. 4 months. If you truly wanted the easier option, 2 months is much shorter than 4. And playing football could possibly compromise your racing performance. There's no way you would do that just to avoid 2 months of detention."

Finn sighd and chuckled. That girl knew him so well!

"A man can have more than one motivation." Finn responded and Emily giggled.

"You're so funny. I love you." She said. Finn's eyes widened when he realised what she had just said, and Emily's face paled slightly.

"I mean… I… uh… I…" Emily stammered as she attempted to come up with a response. When that failed, she started spiraling. "I've just been feeling like this… you're so amazing… I don't want to pressure you into saying it if you're not…"

Emily was cut off when Finn pressed his lips gently against hers. When they finally detached for oxygen, Finn looked her right in the eye and said…

"I love you too."

Little did they know that their relationship would implode in exactly one week…

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On Thursday night, Finn prepared to leave for his first race of the season. He was leaving that night and coming back on Sunday night so he would only be missing Friday of school. The team had planned to meet at Columbus Airport an hour and a half before the flight so Finn needed to leave for Columbus almost 3 hours before his flight actually departed. Not that he was complaining though. It was going to be his first competitive race in a year and he was a bundle of nerves and excitement. He had packed his bag the night before and was ready to leave for the airport. His family, who were all sitting in the living room, smiled at him.

"All right, guys. I'm going to head out now." Finn announced. His family all hugged him.

"Good luck, Finn!" Neve exclaimed.

"Yeah, we're all rooting for you!" Sarah added. Finn smiled.

"Thanks, guys. You know, no matter what position I come, if I finish the race without crashing, I'm happy. It's my first race back so I'm not expecting much."

"Well, whatever happens, we're so proud of you and you have as long as you need to improve."

"Thanks. See you guys Sunday!"

"See you!" They said. Finn walked out the door and into the waiting Uber. An hour and a half later, Finn arrived at Columbus airport, where the whole team was waiting. Josh walked up to him when he arrived and Finn smiled when he saw him.

"Hey, what's good, man?" Finn asked. The two of them bro-handshaked.

"Dude, I'm so excited! First race of the season!" He exclaimed. Finn nodded and grinned.

"Yeah, man. It's my first race in over a year. I'm kinda nervous, not gonna lie." Finn said.

"Me too, man."

At that moment, their two race engineers walked up to them and informed them it was time to get going…

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"Radio Check. Radio Check."

Finn listened as Dalton, his race engineer's, voice filled his earpiece. It was Saturday and the first qualifying session had just started. Yesterday, Finn had flown through the practise session and had achieved the third fastest time. Josh came 6th in the session so that was a pride and encouragement bonus. Today, Finn needed to stay out of the bottom 5 out of 20 drivers to advance to the second qualifying session. The three qualifying sessions would determine which position Finn would start the race in tomorrow.

"Yup, I'm here. All good." Finn replied. "Is everything okay with the car?"

"Yes. Everything looks good. There's no traffic ahead of you so just full send it this lap."

"Copy that." Finn replied and floored the acceleration. "LET'S GO!" He exclaimed, cheering and howling like a madman as he meticulously took each and every corner with the utmost precision and skill. To his delight, he managed to make second place in the first qualifying session (one position and 0.8 seconds better than practise). Finn's luck only went up from there. He managed to claim first place in the second practise session and then second place in the third - meaning that he would be starting the race second on the grid tomorrow. Unfortunately, Josh's brakes locked up at the most crucial time so he ended up having to start the race from 8th.

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Race day was intense, to say the least. It all started at 8 am when the two racers woke up and ate breakfast in the hotel. The race started at 2 and they were told to arrive on the track at 12 so they had a couple of hours to chill. But they couldn't relax. They were both too nervous about the upcoming race. Last time Finn had been in this kind of situation, he had been in the worst crash of his life and he was determined for it not to happen again. Eventually, before Finn knew it, he was on the track, ready to start the race. Minutes ticked by…

_5 minutes left…_

The team - engineers, mechanics, etc. - were kicked off the track, leaving just the 20 drivers on the grid

_3 minutes left…_

Finn adjusted his position in his car, ready to start the formation lap of the race. The race wasn't officially starting as they still had the formation lap, but the drivers were psyching themselves up.

_2 minutes left…_

Finn revved his engine. Something sounded wrong but Finn couldn't quite put his finger on it. It sounded scarily similar to the sounds his car made right before he crashed last year. Finn put it out of his mind. NO! He couldn't think like that! He needed to be fully focussed if he wanted to get a win here today.

_1 minutes left…_

The lights turned green and the drivers slowly accelerated off the grid. The purpose of a formation lap was to warm up their tyres and engines right before the actual race start and as Finn drove for the short lap around the circuit and he could definitely hear something wrong with the engine. It didn't sound dangerous, but he knew that his car was probably not firing on all cylinders.

"Yo, is everything okay with the car? It sounds kind of weak." Finn remarked into the radio. Dalton replied almost immediately.

"Um… I'm not going to lie to you, Finn… something's up." Dalton said.

"Do we need to retire?" Finn asked, worried.

"No, we don't right now because there's nothing too threatening about it. Unless the engine dies, that is. But you might be limping to the finish line." Dalton said. Finn sighed. Well that wasn't a good sign. At the end of the formation lap, they all lined up on the grid and prepared for the start of the race. Finn waited impatiently for the lights to go out, indicating the start of the race.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1…


	26. Chapter 26

_**CHAPTER 27** _

_5… 4… 3… 2… 1…_

The one second mark seemed to last an eternity before the lights finally went out and the cars went screeching off the starting line. That's where everything went wrong for Finn… As soon as he tried to accelerate, he realised that there was a power failure in his car. He was not even going a tenth the speed of the other drivers so was lapped by everyone before they even reached the first turn of the race.

"WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!" Finn shouted into the team radio.

"Power failure. Power failure." Dalton replied.

"Well, what do I do?" Finn asked, shortly as he tried to drive as fast as his car would allow. It was back to full speed now but Finn had lost around 20 seconds on the other drivers.

"Two options." Dalton said. "Retire or keep racing. We can't guarantee you won't have another power cut before the end of the race. We'll work on fixing that for the next race, don't worry. So yeah, retire or race."

Finn gritted his teeth.

"I'll race." He replied before flooring it and hurtling towards the other drivers…

_Lap 10/50…_

Finn had closed the gap between him and second last place to ten seconds, averaging almost a second faster than the other drivers every lap.

"How am I looking?" Finn asked Dalton.

"Everything looks good. Tyres look good. Engine looks good. You are ten seconds from the pack. At this trajectory, you should be approaching the pack on Lap 20."

"That's great, but how am I looking compared to first place?"

He heard Dalton chuckled.

"Finn, I don't really think we're getting a podium this week." Dalton laughed. "You're a good minute away."

"Don't count me out yet." Finn muttered before hitting the accelerator…

_Lap 20/50_

Almost halfway through the race and Finn had just caught up with the 20th place driver. He was by far one of the best drivers on the grid and it was purely car troubles that led him to be in last place. But not for long…

"OK, approaching 19th now. Take him on." Dalton said.

"Copy that." Finn replied, before expertly cutting outside and squeezing the 19th car so that it would have to slow down in fear of driving into the barricades, before zooming past and taking his place in the middle of the lane.

"YEEE HAWWW!" Finn shouted, bursting with glee. It was his first overtake of the season and it was a clean one. He was in the midst of the pack now and was fast approaching the next few cars.

_Lap 30/50_

11th place! Finn had pulled himself up to 11th place! One more overtake and he would be in the points region. He was proving to everyone on the grid why he was the superior driver.

"How am I looking?" Finn asked.

"Very good, man. Very good. On your current path, you might even hit 5th."

"5th? Hell no! That's not fucking good enough." Finn spat. "I'm getting this podium. So help me god I'm getting that podium."

"Finn, don't push too far. Too far and you risk making a mistake."

"Yeah, or I can push to the very edge and claim a podium." Finn muttered.

_Lap 40/50_

Finn had definitely stepped up his game. He was flying around the track, expertly weaving in and out. Nobody could believe how far he had come in the 40 laps of the race. He was averaging nearly a second and a half faster than the driver ahead. He was now 5th place - the position he had been projected to finish the race in. Podium wasn't even too far away from him now. Only two more places to bump him up to third place.

"Um… Dalton. I'm going for it." Finn declared into his microphone.

"Go ahead. You've got this, Finn." Dalton said. Finn grinned and pushed his car as far as it could possibly go.

_Lap 50/50_

One final lap. One more round around the circuit. Only one and a half minutes left. Finn was in 2nd, and he wasn't happy. It had been a fairytale race for him - starting from second place, his car breaking down at the very beginning, starting from the first lap in last place, pulling himself all the way up the grid. The only thing left was his happy ending. It was his first race back and he was gunning for the first place spot.

"Dalton, I'm getting this win. How far behind am I?" Finn asked.

"You're 2 seconds behind. But hang back. Don't press, please. Don't press." Dalton requested. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"What? Why? I can get the win! The driver in front of me is slow!" Finn shouted.

"I know. But the driver in front of you is your teammate."

"Wait… Josh is first right now?" Finn asked, shocked. Dalton laughed.

"Don't sound so surprised." Dalton responded. "Yeah, Josh is first and we don't want you to contest and end up hitting each other. We've got first and second right now. Let's not lose it."

"Mate, this is the only chance I have of catching him. I'm not just going to sit behind like a fucking grandma." Finn said, before turning his radio off, ignoring Dalton's shouts. He floored the accelerator and pushed his car to the very furthest it could go. He was catching Josh. He could already see him. Finn kept closing the gap with every passing second. 1 second… 0.8 seconds… 0.6 seconds… 0.3 seconds…

Soon, Finn was right alongside his fellow GRG driver. Finn easily had the better position on the track and the overtake would be extremely easily. As Finn passed, he cheekily waved at Josh, who flipped him the bird in reply. Finn chuckled and accelerated, drifting past him and crossing the checkered flag as the victor of the first race of the season in the US Formula 3 Championship.

"WHOOOOO!" Finn shouted as he slowly decelerated and pulled into the pit lane. "Let's GOOOO! I'm back BABYYYY!"

"Get in there, Finn! Great work, mate. That was an awesome drive. Such spectacular speed and precision. Fantastic."

"Last to first, eh?" Finn remarked. "There's gotta be a record for that. Awesome! Thank you so much, guys. All of you. Great work this whole weekend. Cheers."

Finn parked his car in the garage and as soon as he stepped out of his car, he was dived on top of by his whole team, who were celebrating wildly. They had claimed maximum points in the constructor's championship as Finn and Josh had claimed 1st and 2nd place, and Finn claimed the bonus point for achieving the fastest lap.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

That night was one of the best of Finn's life. Standing back on the top of the podium after a year of being out was a feeling like he had never felt before. He floated on a cloud of euphoria and triumph. Josh was just as ecstatic with his own performance. He knew that Finn was the better driver and second place was as good as a win for him.

After the podium celebration, when the drivers finally made it back to the hotel, Finn took out his phone to text his family and Emily with the good news but unfortunately, he realised that his phone was dead. Oh well, Finn was too happy to be annoyed. He got on the plane back to Ohio less than 5 hours after the race, ready for school the next day. He had Glee club and football now to think about, as well as his racing career. It was a lot, but he was ready…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

On Monday, Emily walked into school, slightly upset. She hadn't heard from Finn all weekend again, but this time, she wasn't worried. She trusted Finn, and more importantly, she loved him. And she knew how much he loved her. Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to see Sam smiling sympathetically at her.

"Go away, Sam." Emily spat.

"Hear me out." Sam said, quickly. "Finn's cheating on you." He said. Emily raised an eyebrow.

"Where have I heard that before?" Emily remarked, sarcastically.

"I had no proof before. I do now." He said.

"Fuck off, Sam. Finn loves me, and I love him." Emily said, and she pushed past him to walk away.

"I have photo proof!" He called after her. She slowly turned around to face him again.

"Um… what?" She asked, confused. Sam walked back towards her, taking his phone out in the process.

"Maybe Finn was in Columbus before, but where was Finn this weekend, huh?" Sam asked. Emily shrugged.

"None of your business." Emily snapped. "Now, do you have something to show me or not?"

Sam nodded.

"Let's talk somewhere quieter. Let's go to the bleachers…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Look, Sam, Glee starts in 5 minutes. Unless you've got something to show me, I'm gonna go." Emily spat. Sam opened his phone's camera roll and showed Emily a photo. When she saw it, her heart dropped…

Finn, her Finn, was locked in a fierce embrace with Quinn and was kissing her passionately. Emily's eyes filled with tears. Her heart felt like it had been ripped out of her chest and stomped on it right in front of her. She couldn't believe it. After everything Finn had said to her last week, he had still gone and cheated on her.

"Where did you get this?" She murmured quietly, forcing herself to keep it together.

"I saw them in the park on Saturday. Thought you'd like to see a picture." Sam said. Emily's devastation quickly turned into anger. She wanted revenge. She grabbed Sam and started kissing him. She kissed him fiercely, not out of love but out of revenge, for a while before someone came and sat down next to her. She turned around to look at the person and realised it was Finn. His expression was confused more than anything else.

"Hi. Am I interrupting?" He asked, sarcastically. Emily finally got over her shock and slapped him as hard as she could. Finn didn't even flinch though. He just got more and more perplexed. What in the world was going on?

"I'm sorry. What the hell is going on?" Finn asked, annoyed now. He had just walked in on his girlfriend kissing his least favourite person in the world. Who knew what else they had done over the weekend?

"Cut the crap, Finn!" Emily snapped. "I know you cheated on me with Quinn!"

Finn's face was written with confusion.

"Em, what are you talking about? I would never cheat on you!" Finn exclaimed.

"Shut the hell up Finn," she shouted. "Sam showed me a picture of you two making out in Lima Park from two days ago."

"Emily, that's impossible."

"Pictures don't lie." Emily yelled.

"Emily, I'm telling you it's untrue. There is no way I could have done that."

"Why? What possible excuse could you have?" she screamed.

"I WAS RACING ALL WEEKEND IN ALBUQUERQUE!" He gave up on being patient, and flat-out bellowed at her. Emily was stunned. Either Finn or Sam was lying to her.

"Well, if you were in Albuquerque, how do you explain these pictures," Sam asked. He took out his phone and showed Finn the pictures. Finn studied them for a second, and rolled his eyes.

"They aren't me. They're photoshopped." he said, quietly.

"That's bullshit, Finn! You cheated! Don't try and get out of it!" Sam shouted, slightly desperately and unconvincingly.

"They're photoshopped and I can prove it," Finn said, still keeping a low, dangerous tone in his voice. "I'm not even going to begin to talk about the fact that I was in a different state, racing in a race that is available to be watched online. First, look at that guy's wardrobe. I own none of those clothes. Second, the height difference between the people in the picture is different to the height difference of Quinn and I in real life. Also, I've kissed you before. You know I always have one hand on your cheek, when both of this guy's hands are around Quinn's waist. Furthermore, this guy has got no muscle, and his hands are lady hands. It's clearly Sam who just photoshopped my face on his body." Finn remarked. Sam scowled at him.

"Fuck off, Hudson." Sam growled. Finn rolled his eyes.

"And finally…" Finn continued, ignoring the blonde. "And most importantly, look at the guy's hand. No ring. Look at mine."

Emily realised what Finn was referring to. Finn ALWAYS wore his black, tungsten ring. Emily finally realised that Sam had photoshopped the pictures and it was her who had just cheated, not Finn.

"Finn, I'm so sorry…" Emily started, but Finn cut her off.

"No, it's my turn to talk. First of all, Sam, how dare you photoshop pictures of me to make it look like I was cheating! You fucking jackass, I know you want to be with Emily, but you seriously stooped that low? Get your ass out of here before I pound you into the ground." Finn growled.

Sam immediately got up and scuttled away. Finn turned back around to face Emily.

"And you," he continued. "You seriously believed Sam over me? And you start making out with him before even confronting me? I get that the picture looked pretty convincing. But if you just come to me first, I could have told you what I just said. But NO! You insist on finding my least favourite guy in Lima, and making out with him!"

Emily had started sobbing at this point. "Finn, I'm so sorry. If I had known, I…" Finn interrupted her again.

"If you had known? No Emily! You should have trusted me from the start! I shouldn't have to be tracked like a dog so my girlfriend knows where I am and who I'm with at all times. You clearly have no trust in me. You've shown me that the whole time we've been dating. You know what? I don't deserve this!"

"What are you saying?" Emily stammered.

"I'm saying we're done. And no, it isn't Sam's fault. This is on you!" Finn stepped off from the bleachers and walked towards the school. Emily put her head in her hands and cried her heart out.


	27. Chapter 27

Finn's head was spinning as he walked into the school. His mind was having trouble catching up with everything that had just happened. Every pain he had ever felt in his life felt like nothing compared to what he felt walking away from the bleachers. The love of his life didn't trust him at all, and she had even cheated on him!

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Later that day, during Lunch, Sam was bragging to everyone about how he broke Finn and Emily up.

"I can't believe Sam and Emily kissed." Kurt said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, Finn and Em were actually perfect for each other." Tina said.

"Poor Finn." Mike murmured. "I feel so bad."

"Sam's a jerk." Quinn shook his head.

"Hypocrite. Do you seriously not remember what you did to Finn?" Santana remarked. At that moment, Emily walked over to them and sat down.

"We heard what happened." Kurt said, sympathetically. Emily turned her head and saw Sam smirking at her.

"You are such a douche bag!" she yelled. Sam shrugged.

"Hey! You and Finn breaking up is for the best!" Sam responded. Before Sam could say anything else, he felt a hand roughly grab his collar and yank him to his feet, before throwing him on the floor. Sam looked up to see Finn towering over him.

"You remember what I said would happen next time you meddled in my relationship?" Finn growled. Sam tried to scuttle away from Finn but he was too slow. Finn hurled him across the dining hall and judo flipped him onto the dining hall table in front of the whole school. That was when all hell broke loose…

**To hear the upcoming song, click:**

**watch?v=UzXuQbcp8Yc**

**Or search, "Way Down We Go."**

_Oh, Father, tell me, do we get what we deserve?_

_Whoa, we get what we deserve_

Practically the whole Football team charged at Finn, assuming that Finn would just back off and run away from the prospect of fighting more than 20 guys. However, Finn did not back down. He was quickly accompanied by the rest of the football team, which consisted of around 10 guys including Puck and Mike. The prospect of fighting a 20 vs 10 fight was daunting and the odds were stacked against them, but if Finn had learned one thing from racing, it was "odds suck". And, none of them had ever seen Finn properly fight before.

_And way down we go_

_Way down we go_

_Say way down we go_

_Way down we go_

Finn was like a machine. He plowed through guys left and right like he was a machine. All the times Finn had gone off the rails and would get into street fights pretty often had taught him how to fight against gangs. He was a flurry of elbows, punches and knee strike, constantly moving around and striking everything that moved. The whole dining hall had gotten sucked in due to mob mentality (cheerleaders, hockey players, Glee club, everyone.) At some point, Finn had moved during the fight so that he was fighting on the third floor of the building, and had his back touching the wall. However, it was exactly where he wanted to be. His vantage point granted him access to seeing what was going on around the whole school. Also, from where he was standing, the only way to get to him was to climb the stairs directly opposite him, giving him high ground on all of his opponents.

_You let your feet run wild_

_Time has come as we all, oh, go down_

_Yeah but for the fall, ooh, my_

_Do you dare to look him right in the eyes? Yeah_

Meanwhile, on the second floor, Emily was watching the oncoming events, frozen in shock, when someone suddenly ran over to her and tackled her to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. When she got over her shock, she saw it was Quinn sitting on top of her.

"Quinn, what are you doing?" She asked, astonished. Quinn's face was etched with rage.

"You stole Finn from me, you bitch!" She spat, slapping Emily hard across the face. Emily somehow managed to kick Quinn off her and stumble to her feet.

"What are you talking about?! You guys were broken up when we started dating!" Emily exclaimed, nervously. Quinn shook her head furiously.

"NO! He would have come back to me if you hadn't gotten your fucking bitch ass in the way!" Quinn spat. She pulled something out of her pocket and slipped it onto her right hand. Quinn's eyes widened and her jaw dropped…

It was a set of brass knuckles!

Emily put her hands up in surrender and stumbled backwards from Quinn.

"Quinn… please don't hurt me." She begged, but to no avail. Quinn lunged at her and hit her a few times with the brass knuckles before Emily went down, unconscious but otherwise okay.

_Oh, 'cause they will run you down, down 'til the dark_

_Yes and they will run you down, down 'til you fall_

_And they will run you down, down 'til you go_

_Yeah, so you can't crawl no more_

Even the staff had gotten involved in the fighting at this point as they were trying to contain the chaos. However, they were able to do much due to the severe understaffing problem of the school. In addition, tension in the school, particularly between the losers and the jocks, had been so high for so long that a fight was inevitable.

Coach Sylvester sprinted out of her office and pulled the pin on her tear gas grenade, trying to stop some of the chaos. That helped in no way whatsoever. All it did was piss the people off even more and render them temporarily blind as they tried to stop the chaos. Then, the coaches and staff members started to turn on each other.

Mr. Schue was still in the dining hall, trying to separate a fight between Santana and another Cheerio. He dragged the Cheerio off of Santana, who was getting clobbered from behind, and moments later, he felt a hard punch to the back of his head. Mr. Schue tripped forwards and nearly fell, temporarily seeing stars before he turned around and saw Coach Sue.

"Sue, what the hell are you doing?!" He shouted. Coach Sue glared at him with a look capable of vaporising metal.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on my Cheerios!" She shouted. Mr. Schue's eyes widened.

"Are you fucking kidding, Sue?! She was beating up my Glee club member!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. Sue shrugged.

"So what? Everyone in Glee club is bound to get beat up. They deserve it too. Bunch of nerds." She scoffed. It was then that Mr. Schue saw red.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Mr. Schue bellowed. "You have been out for the Glee club but now… now you've crossed the line, Sue!"

"What are you going to do?" Sue asked, shoving Mr. Schue backwards. Mr. Schue charged at Sue and tackled her through a table.

_And way down we go_

_Way down we go_

_Say way down we go_

_Oh, 'cause they will run you down, down 'til you fall_

_Way down we go_

The fight was starting to reach its climax. People lay stumbling or unconscious everywhere. McKinley was no longer a school: it was a battlefield. Both sides of the war were almost out of troops, all had given their sacrifice with Finn and Sam the leaders of the two sides. The difference between the two leaders was that Finn was actually fighting for his side. And he was fighting tooth and claw. Sam, on the other hand, stood at the back of the room, cowering behind his bodyguards of football players.

Finn stepped over a couple of unconscious bodies on his way to Sam. They needed to settle this, once and for all. Surprisingly, the football players blocking Sam stepped aside to let Finn through. Finn dragged Sam to the center of the third floor, where the two of them circled each other like wild cats. The football players who were on both sides of the argument, as well as the rest of the school, all stopped and just stood and watched the upcoming fight. It was going to be a clash of titans.

_Oh baby, yeah_

_Oh, baby_

_Baby_

_Way down we go_

_Yeah_

"You're not going to win this, Finn. I took MMA classes for 14 years." Sam growled. Finn snorted.

"Yeah, I'll take my chances." He replied. The two of them kept circling, until Sam pounced…

To his credit, he was better than Finn thought he was, and he did get a few good hits in. Finn went stumbling backwards after Sam hit an elbow square to the jaw. Sam, already getting cocky, lunged sloppily at Finn, and Finn immediately judo flipped and pinned him to the ground. Due to Finn's size advantage, that proved pretty easy. Finn threw in a couple of good hits for good measure before Sam managed to free himself from the lock and kick Finn backwards and get back to his feet. Finn's nose was dripping with blood from when Sam elbowed him and Sam had a nasty gash on his face too, but neither took heed of them. They were probably never going to get this opportunity again.

Meanwhile, back on the second floor, Emily regained consciousness and stumbled onto the third floor to watch Sam and Finn's balcony fight.

Sam was the first to lunge yet again, and Finn was ready to receive him, blocking his punches and throwing a knee to the stomach, before a vicious uppercut that sent Sam sprawling to the ground. Finn didn't press him this time. He just waited as Sam slowly got to his feet. Throughout the fight, Finn was thinking to himself… what the hell am I doing? Why am I doing this? All of this carnage is just from a fight over a girl?

But Finn couldn't stop. He knew that Sam wouldn't let him. His only chance was to end the fight without further harming Sam. Sam stood up, fury and wrath filling his body like fire, and he charged at Finn one last time…

Finn, rather than flipping him over, grabbed him into a choke lock and began to gently squeeze. He had pinned Sam's limbs so he couldn't fight out of it.

"Tap out." Finn whispered, gently, into Sam's ear. Sam kept struggling to no avail.

"NO!" He spluttered.

"Sam, please." Finn begged. "I don't want to hurt you. Please tap out."

"NO!"

"Sam, tap out. I don't want to put you to sleep." Finn said, one more time. Just as Sam started fading, Finn felt a hand lighting tapping his arm in mercy. Finn, extremely thankful, let go of Sam and slowly stood up. The part of the school who were on his side cheered, and the fighting finally seemed to seize. As Finn leaned over to wipe a bit of blood from his nose, he didn't notice Sam standing up, revenge the only thing on his mind. Sam, unexpectedly, came from behind him and kicked him. Taken by surprise, Finn tripped forward and fell, over the balcony and freefalling three stories to the bottom floor of the school.

"FINN!" Emily screamed as he fell. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. The last thing Finn saw was Sam's face, filled with fear and regret, before Finn hit the ground head-first with a sickening 'SPLAT' and lay there, drowning in a pool of his own blood…

_And way down we go_

_Way down we go_

_Say way down we go, ooh_

_Way down we go_


	28. Chapter 28

" _FINN!" Emily screamed as he fell. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. The last thing Finn saw was Sam's face, filled with fear and regret, before Finn hit the ground head-first with a sickening 'SPLAT' and lay there, drowning in a pool of his own blood…_

Everyone stood there, immobile in shock as Finn lay on the ground. They then all turned to Sam, their expressions filled with everything from shock to sadness to anger.

"SAM, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Emily screamed, sprinting down to the first floor. She almost threw up when she saw the love of her life bleeding out, a dangerously large gash in the back of his head. The police had arrived to try and stop the fight a couple of minutes prior and one of them called an ambulance. The whole school watched as Finn was stretchered into an ambulance, which went screeching for the hospital. Everyone knew that he was severely injured, and they didn't know if he was even alive or not…

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The whole Glee club - minus Sam and Quinn of course - were waiting in the hospital waiting room. Emily was in one of the rooms getting a couple of stitches for the gash on her arm, but the real question mark was over Finn. Nobody knew whether he was still alive. He had hit his head after a three storey drop, causing a whole host of different injuries. Finn and Emily's families were also called to the hospital, with Emily's mom and dad sitting with her while she had her stitches, and Finn's sisters and mom pacing around the waiting room, nervously, tears streaming down their faces. Even Josh and Dalton, Finn's racing friends, rushed to the hospital when they heard the news. However, the group didn't get an update for nearly 5 hours.

Eventually, a doctor walked out to the waiting room, and everyone stood up, nervously. He addressed Carole - Finn's mom and the only nurse in the group - as she spoke.

"You've seen your fair share of these." He said. "So you know the next 24 hours are critical."

"But he's gonna pull through, right?" Josh asked, nervously. Finn had quickly become his best friend and with all the time they spent training together each week, and Josh didn't know what he would do if Finn died.

"We're doing everything we can." was all the doctor could say in reply. He honestly didn't know if Finn would pull through or not. "Excuse me." He said and he walked swiftly back into the surgery room. As soon as he left, Finn's family broke down crying, as well as Mr. Schue. Mr. Schue felt extremely guilty about the events that had occurred. He felt to blame. If he hadn't blackmailed Finn into joining the stupid club, Finn wouldn't be in this predicament. He turned to Carole.

"I'm so sorry." He murmured, tears streaming down his face. Carole's face went from sadness to anger in the blink of an eye.

"Sorry? SORRY?! If Finn met you and you hadn't forced him to join your stupid club, he wouldn't be here! Now look what you did! I never want to see you again." She spat, before barging past him and hurrying to the ladies' room to control her tears. Mr. Schue looked down, guilt-stricken and terrified. Carole was right. If Finn died, it would be all his fault.

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"There. All done." The nurse announced, cutting the thread at the end of Emily's stitches. Her dad held her hand.

"It's all right now, okay?" Mr. Cahill said, reassuringly to his daughter. "Everything's gonna be alright."

"I'm gonna make sure that girl gets expelled." Emily's mom, Mrs. Cahill, said.

"I don't care about Quinn." Emily wept. "I just want Finn to be okay." She broke down into uncontrollable sobs. Mr. Cahill shook his head.

"I can't believe someone would do that." He said, disbelievingly. Like his daughter, Mr. Cahill always tried to see the best in people and the fact that a teenager tried and possibly succeeded to murder a classmate was unbelievable to him.

"It's all my fault." Emily cried. Her parents both shook their heads, furiously.

"No, no. Don't say that, Em!" Her dad exclaimed.

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A couple of hours later, Mr. Schue was feeling claustrophobic so he decided to go up to the roof. He had a 6 pack of beers in a cooler in his car so he brought them with him, and just sat on the roof, his feet dangling off the edge. He just stared out at the night sky and drank. Although Finn had only been in the Glee club for half a year, Mr. Schue had developed an amazing relationship with him. A stronger relationship than with any one of the veterans of the club. There was something about Finn… he was what Glee club was all about. He oozed musical talent but he didn't let it get to his head like Rachel and Mercedes did. He was kind, hilarious, humble and still the best male singing talent Mr. Schue had ever met. He thought about all of the amazing times he had had with Finn.

_**Christmas break…** _

" _Hey, Mr. Schue, why did you bring me out here? It's Christmas eve." Finn said. Mr. Schue had called him and asked him to meet him in the McKinley car park. Mr. Schue laughed and popped open his car trunk, revealing a gorgeous acoustic guitar in its case._

" _I played this guitar back in my Sophomore year of high school, when we first started the Glee club. I want you to have it."_

_Finn's eyes widened._

_"Mr. Schue, I can't accept this!" Finn exclaimed._

" _Finn, it's yours. It used to belong to me, the leader of my Glee club, and now it should belong to you, the leader of yours. You were our leader for Sectionals, Finn. You're the leader of the New Directions. Not Rachel… not Mercedes… you."_

_Tears sprung to Finn's eyes as he picked up the guitar. Him and Mr. Schue did their secret handshake._

" _Thank you so much, Mr. Schue. I won't let you down." Finn said._

The tears started falling again as Mr. Schue took another swig of beer and reminisced about everything that him and Finn had gone through together.

_**That morning - 6 am…** _

_Finn came bursting into the choir room, a massive grin on his face._

" _WHO'S THE MAN?!" He shouted, gleefully. Mr. Schue ran out of his office and smiled widely at Finn. That weekend, Finn had convinced Mr. Schue to appeal to the show choir board to get himself officially reinstated as their Glee club coach so he'd be able to travel with them for Regionals and possibly Nationals._

" _I'm the man!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. "Oh shit! Are you the man too?! Tell me you're the man!"_

_Finn pumped his fist in triumph._

" _I'm the man! I won! I crushed it! I went from last place to first place! It was fucking amazing!"_

_"That's awesome, Finn! And I crushed the committee meeting!"_

_"You're back in the New Directions?!" Finn asked. Mr. Schue grinned._

_"Hell yeah I'm in!" He replied. "I'm back, baby!"_

_The two of them hugged for a moment before separating._

" _All right, I'm going to grab a soda. Do you want a Corona?"_

_Mr. Schue shook his head._

_"No, no. This calls for a real toast." He said. Finn followed him into his office, where Mr. Schue opened his drawer and pulled out a 200 dollar bottle of whiskey. Finn wolf whistled._

_"Dang! That's a fine drink!" He remarked. Mr. Schue poured them both a small glass in two red solo cups._

_"The good stuff for real men." Mr. Schue commented. "One of the best things in my life has been teaching you. I'll always be on your side and I'll always have your best interests at heart. Never accept defeat."  
_

" _Damn straight." Finn replied, and the two of them drank the incredible scotch._

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"Where is she? I got her her favourite sandwich?" Mr. Cahill asked as he walked into Emily's hospital room. Emily wasn't there, but Mrs. Cahill was.

"Just waiting for her to get back from her X Rays." Mrs. Cahill replied. " Now the doctor thinks she may have cracked a rib."

Mr. Cahill put his head in his hands.

"Oh, jesus!" He murmured.

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Back in McKinley, the whole school's staff - minus Mr. Schue of course - were having a meeting. They had finally fully come to terms with the events that had just occurred, and they realised that it was not entirely just about Finn and Sam's fight. The tension between the whole school had been thick in the air for years, and Finn and Sam's fight was just the match that started the blazing inferno.

"Something has to change." Figgins said. "What just happened… it shouldn't be happening."

"I know." Coach Sue said. "I swear I'm not going to let the Glee club get away with this."

"Enough with the Glee club, Sue!" Beiste shouted. "Don't you see what your stupid rivalry has done? Two members of the Glee club are in the hospital. One of them could likely die in the next 24 hours.

"I know… I… I still can't believe it. I'm sorry." Sue said, her voice trembling. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

Beiste put her arm around Sue. It was going to be a long night for all of them, that's for sure…


	29. Chapter 29

Finn awoke in a white room. Well, it was actually just big, concrete bricks painted white. He felt strange; sluggish and slow and dizzy and everything else. He blinked a couple of times to try and clear some of the haze out of his eyes, then slowly turned his head to the side to see where exactly he was. For some reason, his brain wasn't acting as quickly as it normally did. Was anyone else here with him?

"Oh my god! You're awake!" A pleasant female voice came from just below where he was looking. He lifted his head up slightly and saw an elderly lady furiously writing something on a clipboard chart.

"Am I dead?" He asked without preamble. If he was, he was definitely going to suggest a much more pleasant welcome into the afterlife; a bed in a white concrete room wasn't cutting it for him, and he was usually pretty relaxed about that kind of stuff.

The elderly lady laughed a bit, which highlighted the laugh lines along her face, and then shook her head. "You're in the Freeman Hospital Surgical Recovery Room. You came close, I'm not going to lie."

"How did I get here?" Finn groaned and let his head fall back into the pillow behind him, a touch of nausea coming to him as his temples flared in pain when he shifted himself. "Fuck, this hurts."

The nurse shook her head and retrieved a needle from the table beside him. "Language, my young friend. Never a need for that word."

Finn grumbled and swore inside his mind. The nurse had complete control over his well-being, though, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

He watched as she approached with the needle, but then (much to his relief) she suddenly turned towards his I.V. and used that line for the injection. "I thought, given your size, we'd need a stronger dosage than normal. Let's see if Demerol can take care of your discomfort, shall we?"

Finn nodded a bit, then settled back down and anxiously waited for the painkiller to work. He had been given Demerol when he had injured his back and it had worked wonders for him. He felt the drug quickly work through his body and make him feel extremely tired in the process. The nurse then walked out into the waiting room, where his family was still waiting. The Glee club had all gone home for the night, leaving Neve, Sarah, Mr. Schue and Carole as the only ones in the room. They all jumped to their feet when the doctor walked in.

"His surgery went well. He just woke up now, actually. We confirmed there's no further spinal damage from the fall and he didn't break any bones, which is somewhat of a miracle. He's one tough cookie."

Everyone smiled, relieved.

"That he is." Carole said. "So can we see him now?"

"Yeah, sure. We had to perform a craniectomy, which is an extremely high risk surgery with almost a third mortality rate but he seemed to pull through okay. The swelling in his brain went down so that's great. Please follow me and please stay calm and soft. There's always a small chance of amnesia and we don't want to aggravate his brain in its current state."

"Wait… he could have forgotten about us?" Neve asked, suddenly extremely frightened. The doctor smiled kindly at her.

"It's a very unlikely chance, and even if he does have amnesia, it's most likely temporary. He'll be up and about in no time."

They finally arrived at the surgery recovery room. The doctor slowly entered, and they saw Finn lying on the hospital bed. Everyone smiled widely at him when they walked in.

"Hey, Finn." Carole said, softly.

"Mom?" Finn said, groaning in pain quietly as he tried to sit up. The doctor gently pushed him back down on the bed.

"Stay still." The doctor ordered. Finn nodded and looked around the room.

"Um… how did I get here?" Finn muttered. The doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, you don't remember?" The doctor asked. Finn shook his head and then cried out in pain.

"Ahhh…" He groaned as his head started to throb.

"Finn, you got in a fight with Sam. He pushed you down three flights of stairs in McKinley." Mr. Schue asked. Finn's face was filled with confusion.

"Sam? McKinley? Huh?" Finn asked, before noticing Mr. Schue for the first time. "Wait, who the hell are you?"

Everyone in the room's jaw dropped. The nurse took over at this point.

"Um… Finn… do you not know who these people are?" He asked. Finn shook his head.

"Nah, I know my sisters and my mom. I just don't know who that guy is." Finn said. The doctor slowly nodded, slowly trying to gauge the situation.

"Okay… what's the last thing you remember?" The doctor asked. Finn thought for a moment.

"Living in Boston. Getting black-out drunk. Getting into a fight. Waking up with a wicked hangover." Finn replied. Everyone's eyes widened in alarm.

"Wait… so you don't remember Emily?" Sarah asked.

"Who's Emily?" Finn responded.

"Oh my god…" Carole murmured. The doctor stayed calm.

"OK, Finn, I think you might have some amnesia, buddy." The doctor said. "You've lost all memories since around July-August. We're in early February right now. You're in your senior year of high school. You live in a city called Lima, Ohio."

Finn slowly shook his head.

"No, I know that. I remember general information like that. Just like I know that I had back surgery over the Christmas break and I'm back on the racing circuit; and that I am competing in my High School show choir. But I don't remember specific things." He explained. "Like I know I am in my school's Glee Club, but I don't remember any rehearsals or anything. And I don't remember people either."

The doctor nodded again.

"OK, that's reassuring. That means that your amnesia is probably temporary."

"I'm sorry. Probably?" Neve asked, trembling slightly. The doctor looked down and sighed.

"Look, with head injuries, there's never a guarantee. Anything can happen…"

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A week later, Finn was finally discharged from the hospital and allowed to go back to school. Normally, he longed for a week off school but now that he spent a whole week confined in the cell of the hospital, he was dying to get back in public. During his week in the hospital, he had been put through countless tests, scans and examinations by the doctors before they finally cleared him to be back in public. He still had amnesia, but he was starting to remember certain events, even if he couldn't remember everything. The doctors anyways said that he might remember floods of information, triggered by people, places or actions.

Throughout the course of the week, he had also been visited by people who were apparently his friends. He met his 'friends' from his high school Glee club, a guy called Josh who he apparently used to be close with from racing, as well as a man called Mr. William Schuester who was the Glee club coach and supposedly his friend and mentor. One of the most frustrating things about having amnesia was that he had no way to support and confirm anything that he was told. For all he knew, every word he was told by everyone but his family was a lie.

Finn walked into school on Monday, and surprisingly, he knew where he was going. It was like everything he had done repeatedly (driving, walking through school, singing, etc.) was still in his memory. He knew exactly where to go to make it to the choir room, but because it was only 6:30 am and Glee started at 7, nobody was there yet. Finn knocked on the door to Mr. Schue's office and he was let in.

"Hey, Finn. How are you feeling?" Mr. Schue asked, letting him in. Finn shrugged. He had gotten to know Mr. Schue very well over the past week as he was the only person, other than Josh and his family, who visited him every day.

"Ok, I guess. It's kind of annoying to not remember everything. It's like I'm a new student."

"Well, let's pretend that's the case." Mr. Schue suggested. "We shouldn't expect anything more of you than we would every other new student. Now, how about a welcome back drink?" Mr. Schue asked, taking out two beers from the fridge and handing one to Finn. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Beer? At school? Look, I'm all for it but isn't that like… illegal?"

Mr. Schue chuckled.

"Maybe. But you almost died. You can do whatever the hell you like. Now, let's have a drink. Celebrate you coming back from the dead."

"Hey! I was never dead! You remember that!" Finn exclaimed. Mr. Schue laughed and the two of them drank their drinks. As they spent time together and were both at ease, Finn was starting to recollect some foggy memories.

"Hey, Mr. Schue?" Finn asked.

"Yeah? What's up, buddy?"

"Did you happen to give me a guitar in December?" Finn asked. Mr. Schue's face broke out into a huge grin.

"YES! I did! You remember that?" He asked. Finn shrugged.

"Faintly." Finn replied. "It's kind of foggy but that's a start, I guess."

Mr. Schue nodded and smiled widely.

"Damn right, it's a start." Mr. Schue replied, and the two of them dumped the empty beer bottles in the garbage, before walking into the choir room for the start of Glee rehearsal…

As the New Directions started to file into the room, all of them saw Finn and ran over to him. Finn only knew who they were from the time they came and visited him in the hospital, not from any prior memories. After they all welcomed him back, Mr. Schue walked to the front of the room to begin the lesson.

"All right, guys! I've got good news, bad news and some more good news." he announced. "First of all, good news… as you can see, Finn's back with us. He might have a couple of memory issues, but he's here and that's all that matters."

Everyone cheered and patted Finn on the back. Finn raised a hand.

"Thanks, but guys, can I just ask one thing? I just told Mr. Schue I don't remember any specific memories, nor do I know anything about you guys other than you told me in the hospital so please… just treat me like a new kid, okay? Please don't put extra pressure on me to remember anything because it honestly won't help. The doctor said that regaining memories will take time, if ever. But I guess it will be fun to get to know everyone for the first time again."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"Cool." Mr. Schue said. "My next point… some more good news. I just received word from Figgins that Sam and Quinn have both been expelled, with Sam now in juvie." Mr. Schue announced. Finn realised something.

"Oh, Sam's the guy who kicked my ass, right?" Finn asked. Everyone laughed.

"No. Correction… you kicked his ass. He got mad and came at you from behind and pushed you over the railing." Puck remarked. Finn nodded.

"Right, that makes more sense." Finn chuckled. Mr. Schue nodded.

"OK. Now the bad news. Because of Sam and Quinn leaving, we now only have 11 members in the Glee club - one less than we need for Regionals - and we might even be another person down, what with Emily taking another day away because… you know."

Everyone turned to look at Finn, who was completely oblivious. He noticed them staring and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Then he remembered something else. "Wait… who is this Emily girl? My sister mentioned her name to me briefly while I was in the hospital, but I never met her in person."

Everyone looked at each other, nervously. They didn't know what to say exactly. After all, none of them could even begin to describe the special relationship Finn and Emily had. Mr. Schue decided to take a crack at it.

"You and Emily… you dated. You two met while you were in physical rehab over Christmas break. She moved to Lima in early January, and you guys started dating shortly after. Sam… he kept trying to sabotage your relationship and eventually succeeded a week ago."

Understanding dawned on Finn.

"Oh. Is that why I kicked his ass?" Finn asked, confused. Everyone nodded, slowly.

"OK, enough news." Mr. Schue said. "Let's get started!"


	30. Chapter 30

Throughout the day, Finn got to know the rest of the Glee Club. The atmosphere of the Glee club was more cheerful than it had ever been in a while. Finn was back and healthy, however a dark cloud was still cast over the group regarding the number of people in the group. They were one, maybe even two, people short. The name 'Emily' kept coming up, but after surreptitious glances at Finn, the subject would be swiftly changed. It was infuriating to have massive gaps in his memory, not knowing who Emily was and what exactly happened between them.

That afternoon, Sarah was showing him various pictures of him from the past year. His family had been absolutely amazing and patient with his amnesia, and he owed them so much for it. Sarah took his phone and opened the camera roll to show him some more pictures.

"So this is a picture taken a couple of weeks ago during your first race of the season. It's you and…"

"Josh, right?" Finn asked. Sarah beamed and nodded.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" She asked.

"He visited me in the hospital." Finn said. "And I started to remember some memories about him. I was in Albuquerque for the race, right?"

"Yeah, you were. You won that race too." Sarah replied. She started to swipe to the next photo but Finn stopped her.

"Woah… woah… woah… hold on a second." He said, before zooming in on something in the photo. "That ring… I'm wearing it in every single photo you've shown me. What's so special about it?"

Sarah smiled faintly.

"That was actually a piece from the tungsten suspension of your first kart. You wore it every day for the past 8 years."

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Um… huh? If I wore it so much, where is it now?" He asked. Sarah looked down at her feet.

"When you were taken to the hospital for surgery, I think the doctor's might have thrown it out. All of your clothes were kind of bloody so they threw those out, and the ring wasn't with your phone, wallet and other personal effects. I'm so sorry, Finn."

Finn sighed and nodded.

"That's fine. No harm. I don't even remember it anyways."

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In the evening, Finn went for a walk to clear his head. He found that getting fresh air in low-pressure environments was the best way to get back past memories. He sang quietly to himself as he strolled into Lima Park. It was 6 pm and the sun was just starting to set so Finn decided to sit on a bench and just admire the sunset. He watched the sunset at the horizon, spreading its largess into a grateful sky. Rich hues of red blended with oranges, purples, crimsons. The orange gold stretches far and wide, the colour of fire hearths and tangerines. It is but the reflection of the dawn, the promise of the rising sun that comes after the velvety night has had its say and the land has rested once more. Finn had learned to appreciate the little things a lot more after the accident. He was shown that everything could vanish in an instant.

As the sun began to set, Finn stood up and started walking home. However, a couple of minutes into his walk, because he was looking downwards, he didn't notice someone walking towards him the opposite way. The two of them collided and the person opposite him fell backwards. Finn gasped.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed, holding out a hand to help her up. She took it and she stood up and faced him. Because it was midwinter, both of them were wearing coats so they couldn't see each other's faces. It was only when they stood opposite each other that they were able to see each other's faces. Finn realised that it was a teenage girl, probably no older than him. His first thought was that she was absolutely gorgeous. No one else in the world even compared to her natural beauty. But what captivated Finn most was that there was an aura of deja vu about her. It was almost as though he had known her in another lifetime. Suddenly, something else caught his eye…

On her finger was an extremely familiar black tungsten ring. His ring! The ring he had supposedly worn for 8 years and was in every single memory and photograph he had. The feeling that he had met this woman before intensified. But before he could get answers, she saw his face and her eyes widened and her face paled. She let go of his hand and stumbled backwards as if he was on fire. She turned to run away and was about to start running when Finn finally found his voice.

"Ma'am! Ma'am!" He exclaimed. "I think that's my ring! How do you have my ring?" He asked. She didn't answer. Instead, she turned on her heel and sprinted away. However, Finn wasn't getting this far and not getting any answers.

"Wait! Wait! Stop!" Finn shouted, running after her. "How do you know me? How do you have my stuff?"

Still, she ran faster. Finn thanked god that he had been gifted with the ability of sprinting. He easily caught up with her, but she didn't say a word.

"Please. Tell me how you know me." Finn begged. "Ever since I woke up… I lost all of my memories of the past year. It's like the past year of my life has been completely scrapped. I've lost people I loved. Memories I've made. But the worst part is seeing the looks on people's faces. They look at me with so much sympathy, like I'm some helpless kid who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. But under that infuriating pity and sympathy, I can see the hurt and anger in their eyes. Like I somehow hurt them in the past. You have exactly that look in your eyes. I hurt you, didn't I, during my forgotten time?"

The girl didn't respond, but a tear ran down her cheek as she trembled. Tears started to run freely down Finn's face as he continued.

"Look, whatever I did, I am… truly, truly sorry. I don't know who I am anymore. It's like someone else was living my life. Do you have any idea how painful it is?"

Once again, no answer. Finn sighed. Maybe he just wasn't going to get any answers from her. He forced himself to continue.

"Every day I wake up, and I think maybe today I'll get my memories back. Maybe today will be the day I finally know who I am. But I end up going to sleep at night, crying myself to sleep, angry that I can't remember who I am, and that the past me even put me in this situation in the first place. After all, what's the point in even living if you don't know who you are? I've thought about… doing bad things to myself. I thought about all the people I must have hurt in the past, and all the people I did hurt when I lost my memory. I'm guessing you're on that list. Please… you don't have to forgive me. Just tell me how you know me, and tell me how you have my ring."

Then, without warning, the girl leaned forward and kissed him…

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It had been the worst week of Emily's life. First of all, she had been beaten the crap out of. Then, the love of her life almost died. After that, he managed to remain alive, but he didn't remember her. She didn't even have the courage to see him in the hospital, and when he went back to school, she took the days off school. She couldn't face him. She couldn't look at him, knowing that he had no idea who she even was.

After another rough day at home, she decided to go for a short walk. It was pretty cold due to it being winter, but the thin layer of snow led to a gorgeous view. As she walked down the street, she pondered her current situation. How was she going to move on with her life? Finn was once such a huge part and to think that he was gone… that thought petrified her. In the midst of her thoughts, she ended up walking into a massive guy, and was sent tumbling to the ground. The man helped her up and when the hood of his coat slipped a little, Emily's eyes widened…

It was Finn!

Emily's mind was racing. Finn was literally 2 feet in front of her! Normally, she would be peppering his face with kisses, but she kept her distance for several reasons. First, he probably had no idea who she was. Second, even if he did know who she was, they were technically broken up. She tripped over her own feet as she stumbled backwards and started to run. It was the only thing she thought to do. She was too scared to actually face him. However, being the extremely athletic guy he was, he easily caught up with her. He then started to talk to her quietly…

He told her about all of the hardships he was facing, and how it was a challenge to even get out of bed every morning and keep living. She had no idea how hard it was for him. She had been so preoccupied with her own feelings and well-being that she didn't realise how tough it would be for Finn. After all, Quinn might have beaten her up a little, but Sam very nearly killed Finn. Her heart broke as she saw tears trickle down Finn's face as he pleaded with her to tell her who she was, and how he knew her, and he begged her to tell him how she had his ring. She had stolen the ring from the hospital the night Finn was admitted. In the 50% chance that Finn ended up dying that night, she wanted something to remember him by. A memento to remind her of the sweet brunette who stole her heart…

Eventually, she could contain her feelings no longer. She hadn't yet regained her voice after the shock so she didn't speak to him. It was like her mouth wasn't responding to her brain. Instead, she leaned forward and kissed him…

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As soon as their lips touched, Finn's head seared in pain and he fell backwards. Memories cascaded into his mind like a tsunami, burning his brain. Memories of him, Emily, the Glee Club, his family, racing and Lima piled on. Finn felt like his brian was being stabbed by a razor-sharp blade and being scorched by a blowtorch at the same time. He collapsed on the ground and Emily sprinted over, extremely concerned.

"FINN!" She screamed, kneeling down next to him. "Finn! Are you okay?"

Finn didn't respond. He just clutched his head in pain as the memories rushed back. Eventually, after a couple of seconds of Finn being in complete agony, Emily took out her phone, prepared to call 911. Finn knocked the phone out of her hand though, and he managed to shake his head. The pain was starting to finally subside, leaving him with all of his old memories, even the ones that haunted him.

When Finn realised who was standing over him, it was his turn to act as Emily did when she saw him. He slowly stood up and stumbled backwards from her.

"Emily?"


	31. Chapter 31

" _Emily?"_

Finn asked, rubbing his eyes in confusion. Then he realised what had happened, and Emily did too.

"Finn… wait… do you know who I am?" Emily asked, softly. Finn groaned in pain, gripped his head and nodded.

"My memory… it's back." He murmured in shock. "I… I got in a fight?" He asked, confused. Emily nodded.

"Yeah. You and Sam got into a fight." Emily replied. Finn slowly nodded and they remembered the reason for the fight, and everything that happened leading up to it. None of them knew what to say. It was incredibly awkward. Finn ended up taking off in the other direction, leaving Emily rooted to the spot in shock.

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Finn woke up the next morning feeling better than he ever had since his injury. His amnesia and identity crisis were finally over! He then realised something… because his family were all asleep when he got in the night before, they hadn't heard the good news! He practically ran downstairs and into the kitchen, where Neve was sitting and eating breakfast. She looked up when he came into the room and raised an eyebrow when she saw his huge grin.

"Why the big smile?" She asked.

"My memory's back." Finn replied, simply. Neve jumped out of her chair in shock and excitement.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" She exclaimed. Finn nodded. She grabbed him and pulled him into a fierce hug. "Finn, that's amazing! How did it happen?"

Finn looked down at the ground and his cheeks blushed slightly.

"Emily kissed me." He mumbled quietly, but Neve heard him. Her eyes widened.

"You kissed your ex-girlfriend?" She asked, surprised. Finn shook his head furiously.

"NO! She kissed me. I had no idea who she even was. She walked into me and fell over. When I helped her up, I realised she was wearing my ring."

"Wait… your ring? Your black ring? She had it?"

Finn nodded.

"Yeah. I didn't know how, I didn't know why. And when I was about to ask her about it, my coat hood slipped and she saw my face. She immediately started running away but I could tell she knew something about me so I followed her."

Neve raised a hand.

"Hold up. Let me get this straight… it was night time, you were wearing clothing that showed none of your face, and yet you chased a young woman down the street."

Finn shrugged.

"Not my finest move, I know. But I caught up with her and I basically begged her to tell me who she was. She didn't. She just kissed me and then all of my memories came back. Hurt like hell, but I don't even mind. Now that I finally have my memories back, I can get on with my life after this… detour."

"Wait… so you're not going to get back together with Emily?" She asked. Finn shook his head.

"No. Why should I? She still cheated on me. Our relationship was toxic. I don't deserve that."

Neve sighed and nodded. She saw where her brother was coming from, but she also knew how much he loved Emily. The two of them were endgame. She knew it, Finn knew it, Emily knew it. It was now just a game of chess - both of them had their guards up extremely high and neither wanted to risk dropping those walls.

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When Finn walked into McKinley that morning, his initial thought was confusion. Pink banners, hearts and streamers were strewn from the walls. The halls were littered with flowers and chocolate wrappers. That's when Finn realised… it was February 14th - Valentine's Day! After everything that had happened and given that he wasn't dating anyone, he had completely forgotten about it. Finn sighed to himself. It was going to be a long day…

Finn walked into the choir room and he groaned when he saw the room. It was just as well-decorated as the rest of the school, pink hearts scattered on every inch of the room. Most of the Glee Club were already in the room, including Emily, who was sitting in the back of the room, not making eye contact with anyone. Everyone who was in a couple was sitting with their significant other - Tina and Mike, Santana and Brittany, Rachel and Puck (they had gotten together over the Christmas break) were all making the most of one of the most special days of the year. Hell, even Kurt was in a relationship with a guy from Dalton Academy. It wasMr. Schue bounded into the room and grinned at the Glee Club.

"Hey guys! Happy Valentine's Day!" He exclaimed. Those in a relationship cheered and those who weren't grumbled. Mr. Schue laughed.

"Wow. Mixed reaction. Why am I not surprised?" He chuckled. Every year, those who were in a relationship absolutely loved the day but those who weren't hated every minute of it. Finn didn't hate Valentine's Day because unlike every other single person in the room, he was choosing to not be dating anyone and he was living with his own choice, not the choice of someone else. "So, we've got a lot to get through today. First up, we've got a new student joining us." Mr. Schue said. Everyone cheered.

"They probably saw Finn fight and realised that this is the side of the war they want to be on." Puck remarked. Finn shook his head.

"You're such a dumbass." He replied. "Firstly, you called McKinley a war. In a war, there are always casualties, and there are no winners. Trust me, I'd know." Finn said, gesturing to his head. "Second, it's probably a new kid. After all, why would anyone else join the club?"

"Nah, man." Puck said. "Mark my words… It's going to be someone who saw the fight and is a massive fan. Ten bucks says it's an existing student."

Finn shrugged.

"I'll take that action." He responded, before turning to Mr. Schue. "Mr. Schue?"

"Finn's right." Mr. Schue said. Finn laughed and took the ten dollars from Puck. "Finn, you know him actually?"

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"I do?" He asked, confused. He racked his brain but came up empty. Who in the world could it be? Finn really didn't know very many people. Maybe it was someone from Dubai? No, that was unlikely. After all, who would move from that paradise to this shithole?

"Yeah. He's a new kid. Moved from Columbus." Mr. Schue added. Finn's eyes widened. No way. Could it be? The young man who walked into the room right now confirmed Finn's thoughts. Finn's face broke out into a huge smile.

"No way!" Finn laughed. "Josh, what's up, dude?"

Josh smirked and bro-handshaked Finn.

"Not much. Family moved here for work. Thought I'd see what you waste so much time doing so… here I am."

Mr. Schue smiled.

"Well, it's great to have you here. Do you know how to sing?"

Josh raised an eyebrow.

"Um… yeah. I wouldn't be here if I couldn't." He replied. "Do I need to audition or something?"

Mr. Schue shrugged.

"Not really. Truth is, we need members and even if you can't really sing, you can always be a background vocalist. Anyways, let's get started. So… Valentine's Day. A day of love. So as the Glee Club, that's exactly what we're going to be singing about today. But, to spice it up, we're going to add a little bit of flavor to it. We're making it a competition."

Everyone shuffled in their seats and murmured excitedly.

"What are we competing for?" Rachel asked, clapping her hands together.

"Well… you guys are all going to sing a solo or duet love song and the best person/people get a Breadstix voucher. Free dinner for two."

Everyone cheered in excitement. Mr. Schue grinned.

"Let the competition begin…"

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"OK, who wants to go first?" Mr. Schue asked. Rachel's hand shot up and Puck reluctantly stood up and joined her at the front of the room. As much as he liked Rachel, he had to admit that she could be very overeager whenever it came to Glee. He plugged in his acoustic guitar.

"Rachel, Puck, take it away…"

_Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor_

_Reaching for the phone 'cause I can't fight it anymore_

_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind?_

_For me it happens all the time_

_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now_

_Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

_Another shot of whiskey, can't stop looking at the door_

_Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before_

_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind?_

_For me it happens all the time_

_It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now_

_Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

_Oh, whoa_

_Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all_

_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now_

_And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

_I just need you now_

_Oh, baby, I need you now_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=LY5LtUCP3qM**

**Or search… 'Need You Now Glee'**

At the end of the song, everyone clapped politely. It was good, but it wasn't fantastic. Mr. Schue knew that.

"Great job, guys. Setting the bar high. I like it." He said as the couple sat down. "Who's up next?"

Santana and Brittany were the next two to stand up. They walked to the front of the room.

"Girls, what have you got for us today?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Um… me and Britt are going to be singing I Don't Want to Miss A Thing by Aerosmith."

_I could stay awake just to hear you breathing_

_Watch you smile while you are sleeping_

_While you're far away and dreaming_

_I could spend my life in this sweet surrender_

_I could stay lost in this moment forever_

_Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure_

_Don't wanna close my eyes_

_I don't wanna fall asleep_

_'Cause I'd miss you, baby_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_'Cause even when I dream of you_

_The sweetest dream would never do_

_I'd still miss you, baby_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_Lying close to you feeling your heart beating_

_And I'm wondering what you're dreaming_

_Wondering if it's me you're seeing_

_Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together_

_And I just wanna stay with you_

_In this moment forever, forever and ever_

_I don't wanna close my eyes_

_I don't wanna fall asleep_

_'Cause I'd miss you, baby_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_'Cause even when I dream of you_

_The sweetest dream would never do_

_I'd still miss you, baby_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_I don't wanna miss one smile_

_I don't wanna miss one kiss_

_Well, I just wanna be with you_

_Right here with you, just like this_

_I just wanna hold you close_

_I feel your heart so close to mine_

_And just stay here in this moment_

_For all the rest of time, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Don't wanna close my eyes_

_Don't wanna fall asleep_

_'Cause I'd miss you, baby_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_'Cause even when I dream of you_

_The sweetest dream would never do_

_I'd still miss you, baby_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_I don't wanna close my eyes_

_I don't wanna fall asleep_

_'Cause I'd miss you, baby_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_'Cause even when I dream of you_

_The sweetest dream would never do_

_And I'd still miss you, baby_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_Don't wanna close my eyes_

_I don't wanna fall asleep, yeah_

_I don't wanna miss a thing_


	32. Chapter 32

After Santana and Brittany's gorgeous performance, they took a short break. It was turning out to be a pretty fun rehearsal, but it kind of targeted those not in a relationship. Particularly Emily and Mercedes, who watched the rehearsal with jealousy swirling around in their eyes. Finn and Artie were less so as they were happy with the way their love lives were. During the break, Finn, Santana, Artie, Puck, Mike and Josh stayed in the choir room. Finn then took out a bag full of slips of notes. Everyone raised an eyebrow.

"The hell is that?" Josh asked. Finn shrugged.

"Bunch of people slipped Valentine's Day messages in my locker this morning. I kind of want to read them to see what they say."

"Bunch of people?" Artie laughed. "Dude, there's gotta be like 200 messages there!"

Finn nodded.

"I know, right? Pain in the ass." He grumbled. Artie scoffed.

"Oh, I pity you!" He remarked in reply, before looking through the pile. He wolf whistled. "Damn, bro! Did every single Cheerio give you their number?"

"Looks like it." Josh remarked in reply as he looked through the pile himself. He cracked up laughing at one point.

"What?" Finn asked.

"Look at this…" He said, showing Finn a slip of paper. "Someone wrote you a poem."

Finn took the paper and read it…

_Ur the hottest guy in school, according to me_

_You're biceps and muscles are as big as a tree_

_All I want is for you to fuck me_

_From, the hottest Cheerio Amy_

Finn couldn't help but chuckle.

"Wow, that was… weird. Who the hell is Amy?"

"No idea. But I think she might be into you." Josh remarked. Finn rolled his eyes.

"No, I hadn't guessed." Finn responded, drily. They kept sifting through the pile.

"Phone number, phone number, phone number, phone number… Jesus, Finn! You really got a sweep this year!" Mike exclaimed. Finn shrugged.

"Yeah. Why are so many people into me anyways? I'm just the average guy here in McKinley."

Artie scoffed.

"The average guy?" He laughed. "That's a good joke."

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"Oh, come on man!" He exclaimed. "First of all, you're the new Quarterback which basically makes you king in the school. Secondly, you're probably the only one who's going to make it famous outside of Lima.

"Third, you went full-on Rocky mode on Sam in front of the whole school." Puck added. "Chicks dig that."

"And…" Santana chimed in. "In case you haven't noticed, you're kind of hot so that always helps."

Finn laughed.

"Wow, thanks guys." He said.

"187!" Puck suddenly announced. "You have 187 phone numbers. Dude, you have your pick of every fish in the sea. Who are you going to hook up with?"

Suddenly, a chair fell on the other side of the room. Everyone, surprised, jumped up and spun around. They saw Emily, with tears in her eyes, storm out of the room. Everyone looked at each other, worriedly.

"Did you guys know she was there?" Finn asked. Everyone shook their heads. Emily hadn't said a word since rehearsal started, and because she was at the back of the room, everyone forgot she was even sitting there. Santana stood up.

"I'm going to go talk to her." She said, walking out of the room.

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Emily sat on the bleachers, crying her eyes out. She could never have anticipated how difficult today was. It was Valentine's Day, and she had to watch as the love of her life got hundreds of phone numbers and chose who he would be spending valentines day with. All she wanted was to be the girl he would be with. For him to hold her in his arms and call her his again. Suddenly, the weight on the bench she was sitting on shifted as she felt someone slide in next to her. It was Santana. Emily sighed.

"Santana, please, I don't want to hear it. If you're going to make fun of me, please do it some other time."

Santana shook her head, and it was then when Emily noticed a look of sympathy in Santana's eyes.

"I'm not going to make fun of you." Santana said, softly. "I know what it's like. That feeling of longing, as you watch the person you're meant to be with be with someone else."

Emily looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"You do?"

Santana nodded.

"Yeah. Britt and I only got together last summer. I had to spend a whole year and a half with feelings for her that weren't reciprocated."

"So what did you do."

"I moved on. And you need to too." Santana replied. "You shouldn't waste your time on a guy you're no longer together with. I know it sounds harsh but it's true. If you keep trying, it's only going to end in heartbreak. You don't deserve that."

"I can't, Santana. I just can't." Emily whispered.

"Yes, you CAN!" Santana exclaimed. "Listen to me… you're being crazy. There's no point being hung up on Finn. You're killing yourself over a guy in HIGH SCHOOL! High school! That's not crazy! That's more than crazy! I don't even think there's even a word for that."

"Actually, there is a word for that. It's love. I'm in love with him, okay?" Emily snapped. She continued in a slightly calmer tone. "If you're looking for the word that means caring about someone beyond all rationality and wanting them to have whatever they want no matter how much it destroys you, it's love. And when you love someone you just, you…you don't stop, ever. Even when people roll their eyes and tell you to move on. Even then. Especially then. You just– you don't give up. Because if I could just give up… if I could just, you know, take the whole world's advice and– and move on and find someone else, that wouldn't be love. That would be… that would be some other disposable thing that is not worth fighting for. But I– that is not what this is."

Santana slowly nodded. She knew only too well how Emily was feeling.

"I know. That's how it was with Britt and I. I felt that for her, but she was with Artie at the time. You know what I did?"

"What?"

"I moved on. I didn't let my happiness depend on one person. And look, now everything worked out. We're together, we're happy, and that's just how your and Finn's relationship is going to go."

"Promise?" Emily asked quietly.

"I swear."

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"OK. Welcome back." Mr. Schue said. "Who would like go next?"

Mercedes raised her hand.

"I know I'm not in a relationship but I can still sing a love song better than anyone else here."

Mr. Schue chuckled.

"Let me be the judge of that Mercedes. Now, what are you singing?"

"I'm going to be singing I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston."

Mr. Schue whistled.

"Big song. Are you sure you can do it justice?"

Mercedes nodded.

"I'll try my best." She replied. Mr. Schue smiled.

"OK then. The floor is yours…"

_If I should stay_

_I would only be in your way_

_So I'll go but I know_

_I'll think of you every step of the way_

_And I... will always love you, ooh_

_Will always love you_

_You_

_My darling, you..._

_Mmm-mm_

_Bittersweet memories –_

_That is all I'm taking with me_

_So good-bye_

_Please don't cry:_

_We both know I'm not what you, you need_

_And I... will always love you_

_I... will always love you_

_You, ooh_

_[Instrumental / Sax solo]_

_I hope life treats you kind_

_And I hope you have all you've dreamed of_

_And I wish you joy and happiness_

_But above all this I wish you love_

_And I... will always love you_

_I will always love you_

_I will always love you_

_I will always love you_

_I will always love you_

_I, I will always love you_

_You_

_Darling, I love you_

_I'll always..._

_I'll always love you_

_Ooh_

_Ooh_

**To see the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=WAlkk6EjW6k**

**Or search… 'I Will Always Love You Glee'**

Everyone cheered as Mercedes held the final note of the song. She had crushed the song and she knew it. She strutted back to her seat confidently. However, on the inside, she wasn't happy. She wanted a boyfriend. SO BADLY. She was 18 and she had never even been out on a date. Never had a boyfriend. She had never even been kissed. It was days like today that were the hardest though: everyone was particularly affectionate to their significant other, and she was sitting alone.

"Great job, Mercedes. That was just breathtaking!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. "Well, I feel bad for whoever has to follow that. Who's going next?"

Finn and Josh stood up.

"Um… we'll go next." Finn said as they walked to the front of the room. Mr. Schue nodded.

"Cool. What are you two going to sing?"

"We're going to sing the Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood." He replied. Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow. He had covered Valentine's Day in Glee club for the past three years, as well as four years when he was in his high school Glee club, and not once had anyone sang that song. It wasn't a particularly popular song, and it wasn't a slow ballad either. But Mr. Schue was optimistic. If anyone could turn the slightly annoying song into a beautiful one, it was Finn.

**Finn:**

_Dreams are like angels_

_They keep bad at bay_

_Love is the light_

_Scaring darkness away_

_I'm so in love with you_

_Make love your goal_

_The power of love_

_A force from above_

_Cleaning my soul_

_Flame on, burn desire_

_Love with tongues of fire_

_Purge the soul_

_Make love your goal_

**Josh:**

_I'll protect you from the hooded claw_

_Keep the vampires from your door_

_When the chips are down, I'll be around_

_With my undying, d**h-defying love for you_

_Envy will hurt itself_

_Love is like an energy_

_Rushing in, rushing inside of me_

**Both:**

_The power of love_

_A force from above_

_Cleaning my soul_

_Flame on, burn desire_

_Love with tongues of fire_

_Purge the soul_

_Make love your goal_

_This time, we go sublime_

_Lovers entwined, divine, divine_

_Love is danger, love is pleasure_

_Love is pure, the only treasure_

_I'm so in love with you_

_Make love your goal_

_The power of love_

_A force from above_

_Cleaning my soul_

_The power of love_

_A force from above_

_A sky-scraping dove_

_Flame on, burn desire_

_Love with tongues of fire_

_Purge the soul_

_Make love your goal_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=5TKT7b3H6y0 &ab_channel=DaltonHarrisVEVO**

**Or search… 'The Power of Love Dalton Harris'**

The two guys were the clear winners of the competition. They had such amazing chemistry singing together and there wasn't any awkwardness when they were singing as was the case whenever a single guy and girl sang together. Josh also had a gorgeous raspiness to his voice, not so strong that it overpowered the performance, but strong enough to give the song a unique feel. Meanwhile Finn, who normally brought that to his performances, switched to more delicate vocals. His versatility with the way he sang was second to none and was like nobody Mr. Schue had ever met before.

"Wow… well I think it's safe to say that Josh, you definitely passed your audition. That was insane!"

"Thanks." Josh and Finn replied, before fist-bumping and sitting back down. The brotherhood those two shared was unrivalled by anyone… they would follow each other to the ends of the earth - when one of them would be dragged to the very depths of the world, the other would be right behind them. It was scary to think that they had only known each other for a couple of months; they acted like they had known each other for their whole lives. After all, given all the time they spent together because of racing, they spent more time together in a month than many people do in a year.

"OK, I have made my decision. The free dinner for 2 goes to… Finn and Josh. Congratulations, guys." Mr. Schue said, handing them the vouchers. They took them and thanked Mr. Schue.

"Ooh, are we seeing the start of the Glee club's newest couple?" Tina joked.

"Are you kidding? I'm so out of his league!" Finn responded, jokingly.

"Sure. Keep telling yourself that, buddy." Josh replied, rolling his eyes. The bell then rang and Glee ended and the day began…


	33. Chapter 33

_**CHAPTER 35** _

The weeks started to trickle by for Finn. Every week packed with Glee and Football rehearsal, every weekend in a different city for a race. Los Angeles, Denver, Miami, Chicago. The cities just kept on piling up, and so did his race positions. 1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd. He was on the top of his game in the racing division and was finally back where he belonged: at the top of the division. He was once again one of the brightest stars in the car racing industry and was back on the track of making it into the F1. However, despite the fact that every second of his minute of his day was jam packed, he still somehow had time to miss Emily. He missed her so much, and seeing her in school every day definitely didn't help. Nor did Josh's advice about moving on by hooking up with everything that moves.

Soon, they rolled into the beginning of March and rather than getting closer together, Emily and Finn drifted further apart. They were nowhere near getting back together. In fact, Emily had just started talking to a guy from Carmel High called Jack Dante. He was the leader of Vocal Adrenaline - the favourite Glee club to win Nationals and the champions for the past 7 years in a row. Emily had finally come to terms that maybe her and Finn were truly over and she needed to accept that. But the biggest shock happened on March 1st…

Mr. Schue walked into Glee club that day, his face etched in a slight frown.

"Mr. Schue. Is everything okay?" Finn asked. Mr. Schue shook his head.

"Listen up, guys!" He said. "I have bad news. Emily has transferred out of McKinley effective immediately. After the fight, she didn't feel comfortable in the school, so they decided to transfer her to Carmel."

Everyone gasped and started to murmur in annoyance. Emily had joined their rival show choir, not even a month before the biggest Glee competition of their lives.

"Why is she leaving now? The fight was two weeks ago." Mercedes remarked, needlessly. They all knew the answer. She wanted to stay to try and get Finn back, but when that failed, she decided to leave.

"I don't know, guys. All I know is that we have Regionals in 4 weeks and we're down one member so guys… be sure to keep your eyes out for another member."

Everyone nodded. They were incredibly shocked at what just happened. Nobody knew what to say.

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That afternoon, Finn was in Columbus but they weren't on the track. It had just snowed so the circuit was still slightly wet and therefore unsafe. Instead, the team were messing around on the electronic simulators, having a good time. Their team was comfortably 1st in the constructor's championship so they could afford to slack off slightly and spend a bit of time relaxing. They could afford to ease their foot slightly from the accelerator (literally!). Finn was by far the best at the race simulator, even when he was just mucking around. He had just won a race against Dalton - the race engineer - and he stood up triumphantly.

"Let's go!" He exclaimed. "Who wants to challenge the champ?"

"I'll give it a go." Someone replied from the corner of the room. Everyone turned to see the CEO of the Racing Company - Kevin Harris - standing next to a girl around Finn's age. She was pretty attractive too - she had dark hair with streaks of blonde, she was almost 5'11 in height, but the most captivating thing about her was her eyes. Her eyes were blue, but rather than being a clear, ocean-blue like many others, they were stormy. Like she had to fight tooth and claw for literally everything. However, she disguised that with a faint smile. Based on her appearance alone, she looked like the epitome of a popular girl.

"Guys, listen up." Kevin Harris, the CEO, said. "This is Tory Nichols. She's the newest racer on the team. Straight from the UK."

Tory shook hands with the whole team, including her new racing engineer. Finn and Josh smiled at her.

"So, what brings you to the US? I know racing is much better in the UK so that can't be the reason." Finn asked. Tory laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, it was my mom's job that brought me here. Now, are we going to race or what?"

Finn smiled and the two of them sat in the simulators. They proceeded to race in the closest race Finn had ever competed in on any of the simulations. Tory was definitely a step up from anyone Finn had ever raced. It was neck and neck the entire time, with Tory taking the win at the very last second. She stood up, triumphantly. Everyone was shell-shocked. She raised an eyebrow.

"What? You've never seen a girl kick ass before?" She asked.

"You just… beat Finn." Josh stammered. "Nobody beats Finn."

Tory shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm just that good." She replied, smirking at them.

"Finn… she's coming for your crown." Josh remarked. Finn nodded.

"Yeah, she is. And I'm scared now." He said, before turning to Tory. "What school did you say you go to again?"

She shook her head.

"I didn't. I haven't started school yet. After all, I just moved last week. But next Monday, I'm starting. I'm going to…"

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A couple of days later, Josh, Tory and Finn sat in a restaurant, eating some dinner. Josh and Tory were chatting, getting to know each other. Tory was, as her looks suggested, a party girl, and the person who never passed up a free drink. However, on the inside, she was a nice person. Finn was kind of preoccupied so completely ignored Josh and Tory's conversation. He was on his phone the whole time, and didn't even notice Josh stand up and leave. Suddenly, Tory broke the silence.

"You want the rest of this brownie sundae?" She asked. Finn jumped in surprise and looked up. "I'm not gonna lie to you. I already ate the brownie and the whipped cream and most of the hot fudge." She said. Finn chuckled.

"So you saved me the now melted ice cream?" He asked.

"Yeah, the best part." She said. Finn laughed. "Seriously, what are you working on?"

"Um…" Finn stammered. Tory raised an eyebrow.

"Is it something dirty?" She asked, gleefully. Finn blushed and shook his head.

"No, it's nothing dirty." He replied.

"Show me! Come on!" She exclaimed, relentlessly. Finn sighed and handed her his phone.

"I could use a girl's opinion on this, actually." He took a deep breath. "But you have to promise not to laugh."

"I can't make that promise." She said. She opened his phone to reveal a long letter addressed to Emily.

"Is this for your…" She started but trailed off.

"Ex? Yeah." He replied. She kept reading it until she finally reached the end. She tossed him back his phone. "So what do you think?" He asked, nervously.

"I think…" Tory thought for a moment. "I think you should delete that. Put it in the trash, empty the bin and have your phone cremated."

"It's that bad?" Finn asked.

"It makes you look desperate." She said.

"Well, I mean… I kinda am."

"Yeah, but girls aren't into desperate guys."

"Then how am I supposed to let her know how I feel?"

"You don't." Tory replied. "You act like you're totally over her. Like you don't care. Then she'll want you back. And you know how to get over her?"

"How?"

"Have a little fun." She smiled. "And I know just the place…"

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"Ready? Three… two… one… GO!" She exclaimed, and then Finn jumped feet first onto a seesaw, catapulting Tory - who was perched on the other side - into the air. The two of them were in an abandoned kid's playground, and were having a lot of fun.

"Oh my gosh. You are insane!" Finn exclaimed.

"Yeah, heard that before." She replied. The two of them moved so that they sat under the main platform.

"I'm so dizzy." Finn remarked.

"But you're having fun, right?" She asked. Finn nodded.

"That I am." Finn replied. "You know, when you said you had a place to go, I figured it'd be some place where you needed a fake ID."

"Yeah, we can go somewhere like that if you want." She suggested. "My friend bartends at this place about twenty minutes away."

"No. No, no, no. I kind of dig the abandoned playground vibes." He said. "It looks like an awesome place to… fight off a zombie apocalypse."

Tory giggled and then realised something.

"Shit, what time is it?" She asked, taking out her phone. She suddenly pushed Finn so that the two of them were laying flat on their backs. At that moment, a plane flew extremely low right over them. It was the closest Finn had ever been to a plane that he wasn't flying in.

"Holy shit! That was awesome!"

"Every night, 10:36 on the dot. It's the last flight out of Columbus." She explained. Finn nodded.

"You know, Emily and I once went to this ice cream shop in Columbus…"

Tory groaned.

"Oh my god! You were on such a roll! You went like almost an hour without mentioning her." She commented. Finn looked down.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm sorry. Uh… my mentor just said to always go all in and make a move and I'm still trying to figure out what that means."

"I think it means exactly what it sounds like." She replied, gazing into his eyes. "Make a move."

Simultaneously, the two of them locked into a passionate kiss, lying on the soft dirt ground on the playground…

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On Monday morning, Emily had just finished her first week in Vocal Adrenaline. Although she refused to admit it, it was her relationship with Finn - well, lack of relationship with him - that drove her out of the club.

Vocal Adrenaline was a completely different group this year than in previous years, with the old leader Dustin Goolsby being fired and replaced with a new leader, Shelby Corcoran. Shelby was a long-time rival of Mr. Schue's from when they used to be in their high school show choirs together and their teaching style was very similar.

For some reason, Vocal Adrenaline were all ushered into SUVs that afternoon and they drove for around 20 minutes. When they stepped out, Emily was greeted with an extremely familiar sight…

**At that moment…**

"Hey guys. How were your weekends?" Mr. Schue asked, striding cheerfully into the auditorium.

"Okay." They all mumbled.

"Great news everybody!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. "We have another member joining the Glee club, once again courtesy of Finn."

Finn saluted Mr. Schue and everyone turned to him.

"Who is it?" Artie asked. Finn smiled.

"My girlfriend." He replied. Everyone's eyes widened.

"Your… your girlfriend? You mean Emily's coming back?" Tina asked. Finn shook her head.

"Nah, this is my new girlfriend Tory. She's also a driver for my racing team." Finn said. Tory walked into the room moments later. She quickly introduced herself, and beamed as she kissed Finn and sat down beside him. The Glee club was a lot happier that day. They were back up to 12 members so were able to compete in Regionals again. However, less than twenty minutes into rehearsal, they were interrupted when the doors to the auditorium swung open and Vocal Adrenaline barged inside. The New Directions immediately stood up and faced their rival group, ready to fight them if necessary. Finn was at the front of the New Directions, ready to lead them into battle, but Mr. Schue held him back.

"Can we help you? Is there a problem?" Mr. Schue asked, politely. The leader of Vocal Adrenaline, a guy named Jack, shook his head.

"No problem. We just wanted to wish you good luck in Regionals. It's refreshing to see one of our opponents being a team less… experienced than yours."

Jack paused before the word experienced to show that he was basically insulting the New Directions. Finn stepped up and squared up to him.

"Listen buddy. You got a big-ass mouth but how much talking or singing are you going to do if I knock those pretty little teeth in." Finn spat, about to attack the opposing senior. Tory grabbed his hand.

"Babe, no. It's not worth it." She whispered. From the back of Vocal Adrenaline, Emily's heart dropped. Babe? That meant… that meant Finn was dating someone! Not that it was any of her concern. After all, she was also dating someone. Suddenly, someone pushed past her and walked to the front of the room.

"Wow… what a hotheaded bunch you've got this year?" Shelby Corcoran, the leader of Vocal Adrenaline, said. Mr. Schue's face paled. He hadn't seen Shelby in almost 30 years. She was his first love, and first ex-girlfriend, before she switched to Carmel High and Vocal Adrenaline and ended up beating him at Nationals. They had broken up 30 years ago because Shelby had cheated on, repeatedly. When he found out, he was heartbroken and he broke up with her. Thus began an epic rivalry between the two vocal titans in the State. Mr. Schue had never forgiven Shelby, nor forgotten about their rivalry.

"Sh… sh… Shelby. What are you doing here?" He stammered. Shelby smirked.

"Surprised to see me, William?" She asked. "I'm the new coach of Vocal Adrenaline."

Mr. Schue's face went from shock to determination. Shelby Corcoran had walked over him in their high school relationship, in their Glee club, when she transferred and competed for Vocal Adrenaline. There was no way he was letting her win. New Directions were winning at all cost…


	34. Chapter 34

"All right! Listen up, guys!" Mr. Schue said. It was the next morning at 6 am, and Mr. Schue had ordered them an early rehearsal. For some reason, Mr. Schue told them to meet him on the football field but they were too tired to care. They were all still half asleep, yawning and blinking sleep out of their eyes. Tory was half-asleep on Finn's shoulder. "So, we have a new approach to Regionals. I've brought in a new coach… someone who knows Vocal Adrenaline. Someone who knows what it means to be a champion. He's going to help us win Regionals and potentially Nationals."

"Who is it?" Puck asked. Someone walked over to them and smirked at the group. The veterans' bood all ran cold. It was Jessie St. James.

"Hey guys." He said, smirking at them.

"NO! No! Hell no!" the New Directions all shouted. There was a lot of bad blood between Jessie and the New Directions. He was the lead singer of Vocal Adrenaline up until the end of their sophomore year, when he graduated at the end of his senior year. The rivalry wasn't just a typical New Directions vs Vocal Adrenaline rivalry though. Jessie had taken it one step further. He had seduced Rachel - the lead of the New Directions - and joined the New Directions himself, before dumping her and quitting the group a week before Regionals and causing New Directions to crash and burn out of the competition. Needless to say, they weren't a fan of Jessie St. James.

"Guys, stop." Mr. Schue said. "Jessie is now an official show choir consultant. He's not a hot-headed kid anymore."

"Are you kidding? He's just going to destroy us so that his Alma Mater wins!" Rachel exclaimed.

"No, he's not." Mr. Schue said firmly. "I guarantee it. Now, Jessie, the class is yours for the next little while. Good luck."

Jessie turned to the group and spoke to them.

"We are going to Regionals, and we're going to beat Vocal Adrenaline. So help me God we're going to beat Vocal Adrenaline. At Vocal Adrenaline, they have nutritionists, dance specialists, vocal coaches, the whole nine. Here in the New Directions, we just have me, and I am NOT going to let you guys slack off because of it. The days of having fun in the New Directions are over. First of all, we need to week out the weak. We can't have any pussies in the group. Anyone here a pussy? Puckerman? Asian twin 1? Asian twin 2?"

"Watch it." Mr. Schue warned quietly. Jessie turned to him.

"Mr. Schue, with all due respect, this is how we were trained at Vocal Adrenaline." He said.

"Well that's not how we do things here in McKinley." Mr. Schue replied. Jessie smirked.

"And remind me… how many championships have you won?" He remarked.

Mr. Schue was rendered speechless.

"Carry on…" He murmured quietly. Jessie nodded and began addressing the group again.

"I know all of you can sing. It's your dancing I have a problem with. Practically none of you are in good enough shape to dance. You're all a bunch of fat assholes. Well that changes now. Prepare for boot camp… I'm going to teach you the style of show choir that was taught to me. A method of fighting your pussy generation desperately needs. I'm not just going to teach you how to conquer your fears. I'm going to teach you how to awake the lion within you. And once you do that, you'll be the one who is feared. You'll build strength, you'll learn discipline. And when the time is right… you'll strike back."

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"Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy." Jessie spat. "That's why I want you to keep in mind when fighting Vocal Adrenaline."

"Fighting them?" Tina asked. "I thought we were just singing and dancing against them."

"Yeah, and I'm not really a dancer. I'm more of a park and bark." Mercedes added.

"SILENCE!" Jessie bellowed and everyone immediately shut up in shock. "Nobody dares call out! If you want to say something, raise your hand and address me as SIR! Does anyone have anything to say?"

Everyone was flabbergasted. They were rendered speechless.

"Good." He spat. "Now, 50 laps around the field."

Everyone gasped and muttered in annoyance, barely moving.

"NOW!" He bellowed. They all groaned and started running. Finn and Tory were by far the fastest, a good couple of meters ahead of the rest of the group. They ran for 5 km before Jessie finally let them stop. Although the fitter people in the group were okay, people who didn't play sports such as Mercedes and Kurt were practically dying after the run.

"Anyone want to quit?" Jessie spat. "I don't want any fatasses in my group so if you want to be a pussy and quit, do it now…"

Nobody quit at that point. Suddenly, there was a quiet spraying sound and everyone turned to Kurt, who had an asthma inhaler to his lips.

"What is the problem, Hummel?" He asked.

"No problem, Jessie." Kurt stammered. "It's just I have asthma so…"

Jessie suddenly snatched the inhaler from him and hurled it as far as he could. There was an audible crack as it broke against the pavement.

"Not anymore." He growled. "I do not allow weakness in this show choir. So you can leave your asthma and your peanut allergies and all that other made up bullshit at home. Is that understood?"

"Yes, but those are real medical problems. I was…"

Kurt trailed off when he saw the death glare he was getting from Jessie.

"Yes, sir. Understood."

Rehearsal - no, training - didn't get any easier after that point. After the run, they then began singing, which was just as rigorous as the running, if not more so. Every time they stopped singing or one of their voices even cracked, Jessie would make them do 50 press ups on their knuckles. If someone randomly saw them, they would think they were in Army boot camp, not Glee club. The most surprising thing was that Mr. Shue didn't stop Jessie from verbally abusing the group and making them do insane workouts. But then again, they were all seniors so it was Mr. Schue's final opportunity to win gold and he wanted it. SO BADLY.

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That afternoon, Finn was back on the race simulator, practising for the upcoming race in Phoenix. He had just put in the fastest lap when he heard footsteps by the door.

"Are you racing, or are you playing Drive and Park because that's what it looks like."

Finn turned around to see Tory standing in the doorway. He smiled, stood up and kissed her quickly. She sat on the simulator.

"Let me show you how it's done." She said. Finn nodded.

"OK. Be my guest." He replied. As she drove, they chatted.

"Today's Glee club lesson was crazy, huh?" Finn asked. Tory raised an eyebrow.

"Not that crazy." She replied.

"Don't you think that what Jessie is teaching us just feels wrong? That life is only about winning?"

Tory suddenly paused the simulator and turned to face him.

"My mom worked at this restaurant when I was little…" She began. "And she'd bring home leftovers so that I would have enough to eat. When her manager found out… he fired her."

A tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke. Finn took her hand.

"Tory, you don't have to…"

"No warning. No notice." She continued. "He said it was against company policy. And she… she wasn't stealing. The food was going to end up in the trash. The world shows no mercy. So, why should we?

"Tory, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Finn stammered. Tory nodded, kissed him gently and continued.

Some people have it good, but the rest of us… we have to fight for every inch of what's ours. Not just to score a point, or win a competition. For EVERYTHING."

Finn nodded.

"Yeah." He replied. He was dumbstruck with what Tory had just told him. He hadn't had the easiest childhood, but compared to Tory, his childhood had been a cakewalk.

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The whole week, they had to wake up and go to Glee rehearsal at 6 am every morning and were put through actual hell while they were there. However, they had to admit that they were all getting fitter and stronger than ever. Not only that, with all the practise, their dancing got a lot better too.

After rehearsal one day, Santana was on her phone when suddenly, an alert chimed just as Tory walked past her.

"Let me guess… dick pic?" She joked. Santana groaned and shook her head.

"No. My mom wants me to go to the beach club with her." She said.

"Oh my God, that sounds so miserable." Tory remarked, sarcastically. Santana laughed.

"No. It's just… this girl Emily's probably gonna be there, and she and I used to be really close. Now that she moved to Vocal Adrenaline, we're not on great terms." Santana said. "Whatever. Hey, that's a cool bracelet!" She commented, pointing to the one on Tory's left wrist. It was white, with relatively sharp black spikes connected to it.

"Oh this?" Tory asked. "It's not just for show. Last year, some creepy guy at the mall tried to grab me… the bracelet might have saved my life."

"Wow." Santana said. "Hey. You wouldn't wanna go to the beach with me, would you? It'd be nice to have some backup."

Tory smiled.

"I guess I could suffer through a day at the beach…"

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That afternoon, Tory and Santana stood on the balcony of a club that overlooked the water. Santana's family were very wealthy and it was an extremely expensive club so Tory had never seen anything like it.

"OK, this is not the beach." Tory remarked. "Where are the homeless dudes on rollerblades and the guys shoving hip-hop demos in your face?"

Santana giggled.

"No. Don't worry. They'll come over after they pass out the hor d'oeuvres." Santana replied.

On the first floor by the pool, Emily and her new boyfriend Jake lay and bathed in the crisp, golden sunlight. Suddenly, Emily noticed Santana standing on the balcony and her eyes widened. Jake noticed.

"Hey. What's going on?" He asked.

"It's Santana." Emily replied, gesturing to the balcony. "We haven't spoken since I left. I think we should clear the air, but at the same time, I don't feel that I have anything to apologise for."

"I say go talk to her." Jake suggested. "What's the worst that can happen?"

As Santana stood in the buffet line, she sensed someone coming up and standing beside her. Santana knew exactly who it was. She sighed and looked up.

"Hey." Emily said.

"Hey." Santana replied, curtly.

"So, how's it going?" She asked. Santana scoffed.

"You realize we're not okay, right?"

"What are you mad about? It's not like I did anything illegal." Emily remarked. Santana glared at her.

"You left without even saying goodbye, to our arch rivals, all because of a boy. How do you expect me to feel?"

"I was just trying to do the right thing." Emily replied.

"What… so saying goodbye is wrong?" Santana asked.

"No, it's just…" Emily chuckled. "What are we doing? It's our senior year. We're at the beach, and we're fighting about Glee club? When we should be fighting about who's going to get the last pretzel bread."

Santana laughed.

"Oh no! That's mine!" She exclaimed, snatching it from Emily's plate. Emily giggled and then she looked around, her eyes lingering on a shirtless, sunbathing Jake for a moment too long. Santana noticed.

"So you and abs are a thing now?" Santana asked. "God that must be hard." She remarked, sarcastically.

Before either of them could say anything else, Tory suddenly appeared next to Santana.

"Hey, hey, hey. Look what I got?" She said, holding a bottle of vodka, concealed in her beach bag. Emily's heart dropped when she saw her and anger bubbled up inside like a volcano. This was Finn's new girl! All Emily wanted to do was kick her ass but first, the girl looked to be a lot stronger than she was, and also, she didn't want to give Finn the satisfaction of hearing that she was jealous. She forced herself to stay calm.

"Where did you get that?" Santana gasped.

"I swiped it from the bar." Tory replied. "All of the adults are getting wasted. No one's going to notice if we have a little fun."

"You should put that back. You'll get into big trouble." Emily said. Tory shrugged.

"And you are?" Tory scoffed.

"Oh. Emily, this is Tory. Tory… Emily."

"Oh, _the_ Emily?" Tory asked. She knew that Emily was also Finn's ex-girlfriend and although they had just started dating, Tory already really liked him so therefore, she hated Emily. "Come on. Like anyone's gonna miss one bottle of vodka. I could swipe half the silverware in this place before anyone would notice."

"You shouldn't steal anything." Emily said. Tory raised an eyebrow.

"What are you, a nun? Come on, Santana, are we gonna drink or not?"

Santana smiled.

"Let's do it."

"That's my girl!" Tory exclaimed as the two of them walked away, leaving Emily alone.

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"I'm sorry about Santana." Jake said. Him and Emily were starting to pack up and were about to leave

"She can be friends with whoever she wants." Emily replied, shortly. Suddenly, Emily's mom - Mrs. Cahill - walked up to them.

"Hey, have either one of you seen my wallet?" She asked the two teenagers. "It's gotta be around here somewhere. Can you guys please help me look? I'm sure it'll turn out."

Emily instantly knew who took it.

"I'll check the beach. Maybe someone turned it into the Lifeguard." She said, before walking away. She walked down the beach, and over to Tory and Santana, who were sitting on the sand.

"Hey!" She shouted. The two teenagers turned around. "My mom's missing her wallet."

"Sucks for her." Tory laughed in reply.

"You wouldn't know anything about that?" Emily continued. Tory's smile vanished instantly, and was replaced by a look of disbelief and anger.

"Wait… what are you saying?" Santana asked Emily. Emily didn't turn to Santana though. She kept facing Tory.

"Just give me the wallet, and I won't tell security."

"Are you kidding me?" Tory exclaimed.

"Emily, she didn't steal your mom's wallet." Santana said.

"Right. And she didn't steal a bottle of vodka. And she wouldn't steal half the silverware here." Emily snapped.

"Listen, I didn't rob your mom." Torry said, gently. "San, let's get out of here."

The two teens started to turn away, but were stopped when Emily quickly snatched Tory's beach bag out of her hands. Tory was too fast though. She held the bag firmly, causing Emily to trip and fall into the sand. Tory stood over her and started emptying the contents of her bag.

"Look… keys, phone, towel. No wallet." Tory said before walking away. Santana also stood over Emily, who was still lying in the sand.

"Real nice friend you've made." Emily spat. Santana shook her head.

"No, that one's one you." She said, before following her friend away, leaving Emily behind on the beach…


	35. Chapter 35

The next morning, Finn walked into Glee a couple of minutes early, so that he'd be able to get a chance to talk to Mr. Schue. He hadn't spoken to him since he appointed Jessie as the new coach, and he definitely wanted to talk to him. Finn knocked on Mr. Schue's door and was let in pretty quickly.

"Hey Finn. How's it going?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Not great actually. Morale in the Glee club has never been lower. Everyone hates Jessie." Finn said. Mr. Schue sighed.

"I know. It's not ideal. But it's the only way we're going to win Nationals."

"But what's the point in winning if we all aren't enjoying ourselves?" Finn pointed out. Mr. Schue was speechless at that point. Then, Finn realised something. "Mr. Schue?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened between you and Ms. Corcoran?" He asked. Mr. Schue's eyes widened.

"What do you mean?"

"You two dated, didn't you?" Finn said. Mr. Schue slowly nodded.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

Finn chuckled.

"Because when they came in the other week, the look on your face when you saw her was identical to the look I had on mine when I saw Emily. So I ask again… why'd you want to win so badly?"

Mr. Schue sighed.

"Well, as you know, we have a bit of a rivalry with Vocal Adrenaline."

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I noticed." He remarked, sarcastically. Mr. Schue nodded.

"Yeah, so that rivalry isn't a new thing. It's actually been the case ever since I was in high school. I was in McKinley, and we HATED Carmel. Our Glee club was led by me and Shelby Corcoran. As the two leaders of the club, we started dating and it was absolutely amazing. I thought she was the one. I loved her. I really loved her. But it all ended in a heartbeat mid senior year. I found out that she was cheating on me so I broke it off. Shortly after, she transferred to Carmel and Vocal Adrenaline. Understandably, I was heartbroken. She had cheated on me, and then joined our rival school. It caused me to go into a pretty deep depression, which only got worse when the McKinley High Glee club lost Nationals to Vocal Adrenaline. That woman dragged me off the rails, and I'm not going to let her do it again. I've got to beat her. Look, you don't understand."

Finn raised an eyebrow again.

"You mean I don't understand falling in love, getting cheated on, breaking up and then my ex joining Vocal Adrenaline?" Finn asked, sarcastically. Mr. Schue realised the thread Finn was pulling at and he chuckled.

"Oh, right sorry. I forgot." He replied. "So you know how much I want to win."

"Yeah, I want to win. But not like this. Jessie is not grooming us to sing. He's grooming us to fight dirty."

"He's grooming you to win. And if you have a problem with that, you can walk out those doors. Nobody's stopping you. Now if you wouldn't mind… rehearsal's starting."

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"What up Schuester?" Jessie said as he walked into the office moments after Finn left. Mr. Schue smiled at him.

"Hey Jessie. What can I do for you?"

"Um… I've got one amazing training exercise for the New Directions that I used to do with Vocal Adrenaline all the time. I just wanted to run it by you first."

"Yeah, sure. What about it?"

"It's kind of risky. It can potentially risk death but I swear to you I won't let that happen."

Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow, unsure.

"Jessie, are you sure?"

"Trust me." Jessie replied. "It was one of the best exercises I ever did with Vocal Adrenaline. It's a miracle for teamwork and upper body work so it'll help massively with dancing."

Mr. Schue, after some thought, nodded.

"OK, fine. I trust you. And you've produced results so far. But I'm going to be with you for this to pull the plug in case something goes wrong."

Jessie smirked and nodded.

"OK, fine…"

 **1 hour later** …

The New Directions were at an abandoned patch of land, and were making cement. They were being caked by the scorching sun of midday and half of them were lugging around 20 pound bags of cement. The other half were mixing the cement in buckets, which required some serious arm strength. Sweat dripped from all of their bodies, and their limbs hurt like hell.

"Don't add too much water. You wanna make it nice and thick." Jessie said to Rachel, whose job was to add water to the cement powder while carrying a weighted down hose.

"Jessie, why are we mixing cement?" Finn asked.

"No questions." Jessie spat back. "Keep stirring!"

He then walked back to Mr. Schue, who was watching this ordeal with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Um… Jessie, I thought you said that this exercise had the potential to kill them. Nobody is scared of a little cement."

Jessie chuckled.

"Oh, they will be…"

Suddenly, a cement mixer truck parked right in front of them and a man in a construction vest stepped out and walked over to Jessie. Jessie shook his hand.

"Thanks, Cutter. I'll take it from here." Jessie said.

"Hey, you didn't say anything about kids, Jessie." Cutter said, his eyes slightly alarmed.

"Hey, you want your bar tab paid off or not?" Jessie spat. Cutter sighed.

"You get caught, you take the heat." He said, before walking away. Jessie then turned to the New Directions.

"You think winning Sectionals gives you the right to goof off? Well, I got news for you." He said. "Winning one round doesn't mean squat. A true champion never stops training. You gotta keep moving forward. Or else you could get stuck exactly where you are. It's like the cement in this truck. If that drum doesn't start turning, the cement inside will harden and get stuck. Is that what you want to happen to you?"

"NO, SIR!" They all chanted.

"Good. Then climb up, get inside and make it spin."

The group's eyes widened and they murmured to each other, confused. Eventually, Puck broke the silence.

"Look man, we're sorry for goofing around. We learnt our lesson."

"GET IN!" He shouted, pulling a ladder down so the students could climb into the cement mixer.

"Jessie, this seems dangerous." Finn remarked. "I mean, the fumes alone…"

"QUIET!" Mr. Schue shouted from the corner of the room. Everyone jumped in surprise and shut up. "This man won 4 championships and you question him? Look at you. Look at all of you. I can't believe you pathetic bunch of pussies competed in Sectionals in the first place, let alone won. There's no one better than Jessie when it comes to winning. If you know what's good for you, you better listen to every goddamn word he says."

Eventually, Finn stepped forwards.

"Put me in, coach." He said, determined. Tory was the next to step up. Then Josh. Then Puck. The four strongest athletes climbed up the ladder and into the cement mixer. "Holy shit!" Finn exclaimed as he stepped inside. The cement was only up to his feet level, but if they couldn't spin it and it hardened like that, it would spell huge trouble for them. The four of them took their positions in the mixer and slowly gained their balance.

"Don't just stand there!" Jessie exclaimed, peering in. "Do you want to get stuck? Move!"

Finn looked at his friends, determined.

"We got this…" He said. They then started pushing the mixer. Because it was a mechanical device, it was insanely heavy and they couldn't move it. They could even feel the cement begin to harden.

"Let's go, guys! Move it!" Jessie shouted. "What? Are you having some weird-ass fourway in there or something? Push the damn mixer!"

Gritting their teeth, the group kept trying to push the mixer but to no avail. They all grunted in pain as they pushed the mixer as hard as they could. Slowly, inch by inch, it started to move.

"There we go! There we go! A little bit faster!" Jessie ordered. The group of four looked at each other, fire in their eyes, as they managed to push the mixer faster and faster.

"There you go! Keep pushing! All together!" Jessie coached. He might have extremely unconventional and slightly dangerous methods, but damn it they got results. Finn had never had his muscles under that amount of stress before. The short exercise was more useful that a thousand bicep curls in the gym. After around 5 minutes of the hardest work out of their lives, the four were finally allowed to get out of the mixer…

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As Mr. Schue hosed the cement off everyone after the drill, Jessie addressed the group.

"You should all be proud of yourselves." He said. "I know I'm proud. Your parents would be proud too, if you told them what we did here today. WHICH WE WON'T. You pushed forward like champions. Never stopping. Never being satisfied. Never giving up. And if you keep pushing and keep moving forward, you're gonna go to places you never even dreamed of. And that goes for all aspects of life. You guys are almost done with the physical section of boot camp. I know it's hard. Trust me, I was just as skinny and weak as the rest of you when I started. But it is what made me the dancer I am today. And you guys are bound to make it here too. You just need to persevere. You guys are champions. New Directions on three. One… two… three… NEW DIRECTIONS!"

"NEW DIRECTIONS!" They all shouted before splitting up. Somehow, Jessie's unorthodox methods were working and even weirder, Finn and the rest of the group were really enjoying themselves. Being put through such physical struggle had brought them closer together as a group than they ever had before. There was a newfound feeling of unity that was unrivalled by previous years.

As Finn and Tory walked back to the bus, Tory turned to her boyfriend.

"Hey, you wanna do something tonight?" She asked. Finn smiled and turned to her.

"Sure, what do you have in mind?"

Tory thought for a moment and then decided.

"Have you ever been ice skating?"

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That night, Tory and Finn were at the Lima ice rink and were having a great time. Both of them were excellent skaters so they started playing a game of tag with each other, which quickly turned to them making out on the ice. Unfortunately, Tory had to start working shortly after. The rink was connected to a small restaurant, and Tory walked as a waitress there. As she swept a table, she felt herself tapped on the shoulder. She sighed and turned around, plastering on a fake smile.

"Excuse me… can we get some menus please?" The person asked. When Tory realised who it was, her smile dropped. It was Emily and her new boyfriend Jake.

"Oh, look who it is? I hardly recognised you not accusing me of stealing." Tory remarked.

"I… um… I didn't know you worked here." Emily said.

"Yeah, well not all of us get to live off daddy's credit card." Tory replied.

"Look, we just wanted to order some food." Emily said. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly, Finn walked up to his girlfriend, his back to the other couple.

"Hey babe, what time do you go on break? I asked the chef to make the fries extra crispy, just the way you like it." He said. He then turned and realised who was standing there. His own goofy grin faded to make way for an unreadable expression.

"Oh… um… Tory, this is Emily, my ex and her boyfriend Jake." He said, politely. Tory nodded.

"Yeah, we've met. Emily and I had a little run in at the beach club." Tory said.

"So how did you two meet?" Jake asked, trying to clear the awkwardness a little.

"Um… Tory's in racing and in the New Directions with me."

"Figures." Emily muttered under her breath, but loud enough for them to hear.

"What was that?" Tory asked, shortly.

"Nothing." Emily replied.

"All right. I've gotta get back to work." Tory said, before pulling Finn into a passionate kiss right in front of the other couple. "See you in a bit, babe." She said before walking away.

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"Is everything okay?" Jake asked as him and Emily skated.

"Yeah." Emily replied, a little too quickly. She sighed. "OK, I'll admit. It's a little weird running into my ex. Plus, that girl Tory is the worst."

"Well, remember what your dad says…" Jake suggested. "There's good in everyone. She just needs to be shown the right way. But if you want to kick her ass, I won't stop you."

Emily giggled.

"I'll be right back. I'll come find you." She said.

"Okay." Jake replied. She kissed him and skated away.

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Emily was queuing up in the drinks line when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Finn in line behind her.

"Hey." He said, nervously. Emily scowled at him.

"What do you want?" She murmured, quietly.

"Just trying to get a drink." Finn replied. They fell silent for a moment.

"Look, about Tory…" Finn started.

"I can't believe you could be with a girl like that." She snapped. Finn raised an eyebrow and scoffed.

"Excuse me? You don't even know her!" He exclaimed.

"I know enough." She said aloofly.

"I should be the one who's pissed off." Finn remarked. "Here you are, making me think I'm a paranoid asshole and yet you're on a date with Jake?"

"It's not a date." Emily spat, unconvincingly.

"Uh-uh. Sure." Finn replied, unconvinced. "Look, I just wanted to try and clear the air so things wouldn't be weird between us. I guess that's a lost cause."

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An hour later, Jake had gone to the bathroom, leaving Emily alone in the restaurant. Tory was still on her shift and Emily watched as she walked across the restaurant, a tray of food in her hands. A wicked idea came to Emily's mind…

As Tory walked past her, Emily stuck out a foot and Tory tripped over it and was sent tumbling to the ground, the tray of food flying everywhere. Finn, who had just left the bathroom, ran over.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Finn shouted, helping his girlfriend up. She had landed on her head so she didn't feel too good. The manager had also seen everything so it was his turn to come over.

"Are you okay, Tory?" He asked. She groaned and nodded. He then turned to Emily and Jake, who had just gotten back from the bathroom himself.

"You two are done! You're out!" he yelled, pointing to the exit.

"But she…" Emily started but was cut off by the manager.

"YOU'RE OUT!"

Emily turned to leave but before she did, she made eye contact with Tory. There was such hatred in both girls' eyes. Both of them despised the other, nothing but jealousy for the other brimmed in their hearts…


	36. Chapter 36

Although New Directions were stronger than they had ever done before, Vocal Adrenaline was falling apart. At the end of last year, practically their whole group graduated, leaving no veteran members. They had no trouble finding new members as being in the Glee club was the highest honor in Carmel; the problem was that none of them were nearly at the standard of the previous students. Shelby was even surprised they managed to make it past Sectionals in the first place and at this rate, they weren't coming near Nationals. She needed to change up her teaching method if she wanted to even stand a chance at Nationals.

She decided to have rehearsal outside that day to begin her new teaching style.

"Hey, guys!" She shouted. "So, all I want you to do today is wax every car in the parking lot." She said. The group looked at each other and raised an eyebrow.

"Um… Ms. Corcoran? What?" Jake asked. She smirked.

"You heard me! Cars! Wax! Now! Buckets and polish are over there. GET GOING!"

That happened every day for a whole week. First day was wax. Second day was washing windows. Third was painting the fence around the whole school. It was all extremely hard work and Vocal Adrenaline had no idea why they were doing it. It was almost as though Shelby was just using them to do chores. Eventually, at the beginning of the 5th day, Jake, the leader of the group, spoke up.

"Shelby? Why are we doing this? This is a waste of time." Jake remarked. Shelby raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" She asked. "What did you just say?"

"I said this is a waste of time." Jake repeated, a bit louder this time. "We're never going to beat the New Directions like this."

"Everyone, gather around!" Shelby shouted. Vocal Adrenaline all slowly shuffled towards her, exhausted. "Jake here says that what you're doing right now is a waste of time. How many of you feel that way?"

Although all of them felt that way, only a few of them were brave enough to raise their hands.

"All right, smart ass. Come here." Shelby said. Scared, Jake slowly walked to the front of the room. "Now, show me how you painted the fence."

"Huh?" Jake asked.

"Show me the motion you used to paint the fence."

Jake slowly raised his hands and swayed gently from side to side, drifting his hands slightly in front of him.

"Now, show me waxing the car."

Jake's motion switched to a more circular motion.

"Good. Now washing windows."

Jake obliged. He then realised Shelby's entire thought process about the week. The actions by themselves were meaningless chores but the motions put together created an incredible dance routine. Everyone realised this two and they gasped before turning to Shelby, who was smirking triumphantly at them.

"Don't ever doubt my methods again." She said, simply.

"Yes ma'am." Jake replied.

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Back in McKinley, Rachel was yelling at Puck. He had beat up a member of Vocal Adrenaline for practically no reason and Rachel was fuming. The guy from Vocal Adrenaline had written some bad comments about the New Directions online and Puck knew it was his responsibility to retaliate with revenge.

"You beat someone up over a youtube comment? What the hell were you even thinking?!" She shouted.

"He was insulting the New Directions!" Puck yelled back.

"You know what? I like this. And I like these." She said, pointing to his mohawk and biceps. But I'm not dating a bully."

She then started walking towards her car in the car park but Puck stopped her before she made it.

"Where are you going?"

"We're done." She replied.

"No we're not!" Puck shouted, rolling up his sleeve and revealing a tattoo of a gold star with the letter 'R' in it that he had gotten over the summer. "This means forever."

"And I didn't ask you to get that!" Rachel responded before getting in her car and driving away.

"HEY! WAIT!" Puck shouted, but to no avail. Rachel was long gone. Puck growled. He was going to get revenge on those Vocal Adrenaline pussies.

An hour later, Puck had broken into Carmel, a bottle of spray paint in his hands…

"Let's finish the fight." He growled.

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Vocal Adrenaline walked in the next day to see their choir room completely trashed. Every inch of the room was covered in either TP or spray paint, sheet music was in a bin in the center of the room, burning to a crisp, the piano was in pieces. The perpetrator had even stolen Vocal Adrenaline's only ever International Show Choir Championship gold medal.

When Shelby saw the wreckage, she gasped and her eyes filled with tears. As the group started to try and clean up, Shelby felt Jake walk up behind her.

"They even took our International medal." She murmured, staring at the smashed photo frame where the medal used to be.

"Hey! Ms. Corcoran!" Someone shouted. Shelby stood up and turned around, seeing that someone was calling her from the car park. She ran to the lot and over to the students.

"What's up?" She asked. The students merely nodded in the direction of Vocal Adrenaline's line of SUVs. There, spreading out across all of the cars, was a message written in blood-red paint…

**NEW DIRECTIONS NEVER DIES!**

She gasped when she saw the message, and her sadness slowly boiled into anger. She saw red. She dived into the car.

"Ms. Corcoran? Where are you going?" The student asked, confused and frightened. Shelby didn't answer. She just sped off as fast as the car would allow…

She arrived at McKinley High relatively quickly, and she stormed out of the car, bursting into their choir room, her feet still wet from the mud outside. The group were having a little fun, and they all turned to Shelby when she walked in.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Like you don't know." Shelby yelled.

"Take your shoes off or wipe them off. You're bringing in mud. You're disrespecting my choir room." Mr. Schue said.

"You're seriously gonna talk to me about disrespecting choir rooms after what you just did to mine?" She said, disbelievingly. Mr. Schue's face was etched with confusion.

"What the hell are talking about? I didn't do anything to your choir room." He said.

"Just like you didn't steal my best alumni and use him as a teacher to get knowledge on us." She remarked. "You know, part of me actually felt bad for you at one point, but you make it so easy to remember who the bad guy is in all of this. You call yourself a teacher? You don't even know what a teacher is? A teacher mentors! A teacher elevates! He doesn't teach destruction and disrespect!"

"I already said I don't know what you're talking about, Corcoran." Mr. Schue snapped, squaring up to Shelby and not backing away. "And you don't know what you're talking about either."

"Yeah, well, I know you don't… you don't earn the championship medal by stealing it." She cried, emotion drenched in her voice. The medal was the most important possession she had. It was the medal they had won in her senior year. She then turned to address the rest of the Glee club. "Let me tell you something about your teacher! Both him and St. James!" She declared. "They might teach you how to sing and dance, but they don't know a thing about what it takes to truly win at life. If you want to help yourselves before it's too late, the doors of Vocal Adrenaline are wide open!"

Mr. Schue growled.

"You think you can come in here and poach my students?" He spat.

"And what are you gonna do about it?" Shelby cried. "Are you gonna fight me? You know I'm not going to strike first."

Mr. Schue's hand clenched into a fist and his cheeks turned bright red in anger. However, as quickly as that happened, his hand relaxed and his face went back to its normal shade.

"I'm gonna be the bigger man." He replied before stepping back.

"Yeah? We'll see about that." Shelby said, before walking out of the room.

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**1 hour later…**

The New Directions were back out on the field, doing burpees upon Mr. Schue's command. They had been going for the past ten minutes without rest and would be going for as long as it took for someone to finally crack and admit to vandalising Vocal Adrenaline's choir room.

"This could all be over in an instant!" He shouted. "The decision's yours! Who trashed Carmel's choir room?"

Nobody answered.

"Now, y'all know I'm no fan of Corcoran's, but that sort of bullshit we don't teach in here. So I'm gonna ask you again. Who trashed Vocal Adrenaline?"

"It wasn't me, Mr. Schue." Josh panted. "I would never disrespect another team's choir room."

"Shut your cake hole, chubs." Mr. Schue replied. "I'm not looking for excuses. I'm looking for answers!"

"Mr. Schue, we really don't know who did it." Finn stammered, gasping for breath.

"Well someone knows something." Jessie said. "Question is… who's gonna break?"

Suddenly, Mr. Schue's phone rang. He took it out.

"Keep going! We can do this all day!" He shouted, before walking into his office to answer the call.

"Jessie, we need a water break." Mercede begged. She was a huge fan and absolutely loved Jessie's insane workout routines as she had already lost nearly 10 pounds, but this was too much.

"Two minute break." Jessie relented. Everyone sighed in relief, and groaned as they stumbled to their feet. "Get your bearings."

As they were drinking water, Puck walked over to Jessie. Jessie was the only person Puck had told about the vandalism.

"I think I should tell Mr. Schue that I did it." Puck said. Jessie shook his head.

"Say nothing." He replied. "I'll handle it."

Puck nodded.

"Thanks."

After Puck walked away, Mr. Schue walked out of his office and joined Jessie.

"I gotta go deal with something. Can you man the fort?" He asked. Jessie nodded.

"Of course."

"I want you to figure out who did it. Do what you gotta do."

"Don't worry. I will."

At that point, Mr. Schue left the room, leaving just Jessie and the New Directions. The New Directions had moved on from burpees to knuckle push ups, which was even harder.

"Keep going!" He shouted. "I have all day."

Kurt turned to Mercedes.

"You think it's ok if I puke in here?" He asked, panting for breath. Kurt was one of the most unfit people in the Glee club so he was finding the workout the hardest.

"NO!" Mercedes exclaimed.

"Navy SEALs puke all the time." Kurt pointed out.

"Do not puke!" Mercedes shouted. Next to them were Tory and Finn, who although were a lot fitter than the others, still were having a hard time.

"He's not gonna let up. We gotta figure out who did it."

"I bet it was Rachel." Tory replied.

"Hey, screw you!" Rachel shouted. Tory raised an eyebrow.

"What'd you say?" She snapped.

"You wanna do this right here?" Rachel asked, squaring up to the other girl. Finn immediately stood in between them, and held them back from fighting.

"Stop!" Jessie shouted and the arguing immediately seized. "Would you really like to know who did it? It was Puck."

Everyone turned to him with a death glare.

"And it was Finn." Jessie added. "And Tory. And Josh. And Mercedes, Kurt, Rachel, Tina. When one of you makes a move, you all make a move. You live and you die with the consequences and the spoils. Because you are all New Directions. You are family. Parking lot. 5 minutes. You are about to begin real training…"

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"Ladies and Gentlemen… get ready for your final physical test." Jessie told the New Directions. They had taken a bus all the way out to the forest, which was nearly 2 hours away. The only things they were told were told to wear athletic gear and to get ready to fight. It was probably going to be one of Jessie's unconventional training exercises and the New Directions were excited.

"Welcome to Zaleski State forest." He said. "You each get one of these." He said, tossing them all a black headband. The goal is to capture as many headbands as possible from each other. Today, the people against you are not your friends. They're not your brothers, sisters, girlfriends, boyfriends. They are the enemy. The last man standing… wins."

"How do we steal the headbands?" Finn asked.

"By any means possible. No rules." Jessie said.

"Use your judgement. This is just a training exercise." Mr. Schue added.

"Correct, but remember… this is your life." Jessie remarked, holding up a headband. "You lose it, you die…"


	37. Chapter 37

"So what are the teams?" Puck asked. Jessie smirked.

"There are no teams. This is battle royale. You can build alliances, that's up to you. But there will only be one winner. Good luck."

The group all split up. Tory and Finn started trekking together. There was no trail or path or anything so they had to decide on their own direction.

"So, what happens at the end of this if it's just you and me?" Finn asked.

"I guess I'll have to rip that pretty headband off your head." She replied, smirking at him.

"Yeah? This headband is staying right where it is." Finn replied. Suddenly, they heard some leaves rustle behind them. They spun around to reveal Rachel tiptoeing in the trees. Finn and Tory chuckled at her terrified expression. All three of them got into a fighting position but it wasn't much of a fight. Rachel immediately took off running and Finn and Tory were forced to chase her. Because of her small, nimble frame, she was an extremely fast runner and due to the fact that she had a head start, it took 5 minutes for Finn and Tory to finally catch up. Finn tackled Rachel, sending them flying onto the soft cushion of leaves and dirt, and Tory ripped the headband off Rachel's head. Finn helped her up and she walked back towards the car.

The next person they came across was Josh. All three of them laughed when they saw each other.

"Oh Christ! You two are teaming, aren't you?" He asked. Finn and Tory nodded. Josh sighed and got his hands into a fighting position. Once again though, the fight was very short. Tory sent a vicious kick to his stomach, sending him stumbling towards Finn, who was standing right behind him.

"He's all yours." Tory said. Finn shoulder-tackled him, sending him back towards Tory.

"Nah. Ladies first." He replied. Tory yanked the headband off his head, punching him in the jaw in the process.

"Thanks." She replied, before helping Josh up.

"No hard feelings, buddy, right?" Finn said. Josh high fived them both.

"No, not at all. Good luck." He said, before taking off towards base camp.

Mike was tiptoeing through the eerily silent woods. He had a sneaking suspicion that something was wrong, but he couldn't detect what. Then, it happened…

Dropping from the tree like Spiderman, Puck landed on Mike's back, tackling him over and stealing his headband.

"What the hell, man?" Mike snapped. Puck shrugged.

"Sorry dude. I love you but today, you're the enemy. That makes 5 kills." He remarked, pocketing the headband. He then took out a medal from his jacket and showed it to him. "Guess I earned my medal."

Little did he know that Finn was watching the whole conversation from the shadows…

The only people left in the drill were Puck and Finn. Tory had just arrived back at the campa after being eliminated by Puck. Her and Finn had split their alliance when there were 5 people left so Finn was still very much in the game.

"It's all right, Tory. You did a great job. You'll get them next time." Mr. Schue said. Tory nodded and walked over to Santana.

"They got you out too?" Santana asked. Tory nodded.

"Yeah, I guess it's just Puck and Finn left."

Deep in the woods, Finn was sitting on a fallen tree. He couldn't be bothered to hunt for Puck and he knew that Puck would anyways be hunting him. Puck had truly taken Jessie's lessons about No Mercy to heart more than anyone else. Sure enough, Finn heard a couple of twigs snapping so he stood up and waited for Puck to climb the hill and face him.

"Finally, a worthy opponent." Puck remarked. Finn just glared at him.

"So, you're the one that trashed Vocal Adrenaline." Finn said, not really asking, just more of a statement. Puck's smirk faded and was replaced by a nervous scowl.

"They're the enemy. I had to put them in their place." He snapped.

"So that means you had to trash their choir room and steal their medal?"

"What do you care?" Puck spat. "Just because you still have a thing for Emily doesn't mean I have to go soft."

"I'm not soft. And this isn't about her." Finn growled, quietly, not even denying the statement about Emily.

"Nah. Sure it isn't." Puck remarked, sarcastically. He then took the medal out of his jacket and showed it to Finn. "You want the medal so bad? Come and take it."

Finn, not showing any fair, got into a fighting stance and prepared…

Almost immediately, Puck lunged at Finn and sent two flying kicks his way. Finn dodged and blocked them easily and sent his own attack, leapfrogging off a tree and kneeing Puck to the jaw. Puck stumbled back. The blow hurt, but it wasn't enough. All it did was make him angry. They fought for the next 5-10 minutes, both exchanging heavy blows. Puck, who was already an experienced fighter to start with, had gotten even better under Jessie's fitness regiment.

Back in the camp, the group heard shouts and grunts. They looked at each other nervously.

"Is that Finn and Puck?" Josh asked. The group all started walking quickly towards the noise. Finn was winning the fight and Puck wasn't happy. He knew he couldn't win the fight. Finn was far, far too strong and fast. Puck had only one option… fight dirty.

Finn had started to approach Puck now, not just waiting for Puck to attack and counter-attacking. He was more confident, despite the fact that his nose was bleeding like a faucet. Puck shoved Finn over a fallen tree, tripping him over so that Finn fell, his head hitting the trunk with a dull 'THUD'. Finn groaned in pain and got to his feet. Spitting out a fallen tooth, he yelled in pain and dived forward, tackling Puck and knocking him to the ground. Finally, Puck was too weak to fight back so Finn was able to yank both the medal and headband from him. He then turned around to see the rest of the group. He quickly hid the medal in his pocket. As much as he had no respect for Puck for doing what he did, Finn wasn't going to rat him out. He would just have to return the medal straight to Vocal Adrenaline.

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Emily sat on the bleachers of the Carmel High field, thinking about her life. Despite moving from McKinley to Carmel, she wasn't happy. She didn't have very many friends in Carmel, and Vocal Adrenaline was not nearly as fun as the New Directions. She wanted to leave. She so desperately wanted to leave. But there was something she had to do first…

"Hey babe." Jake said, sitting down next to Emily on the bleachers. She had called him and asked him to meet her there. "What's up?"

"We need to talk." She said, gravely. "I've been thinking…"

"Actually, I have something to say first." Jake said. "Tonight, a friend helped me realise that… I'm great. No… I'm awesome. And I deserve to be treated well. You've been so kind and sweet to me, but I can tell you've always had one foot out the door because you're not truly over your ex."

Emily took a deep breath.

"You're right." She replied. "And you are so much more than awesome. You have a brightness inside of you that lights up the world. A grin so infectious that it captures the heart of anyone lucky enough to see it. You're the only person in the school - hell, probably the only person in this city - that cares about me. And I'm sorry for the way that I've treated you lately. You don't deserve that."

Jake smiled faintly.

"That's all I wanted to hear." He said, before going in for a kiss. Emily gently pushed him away. "Which is why I should've just said this straight away." She continued. "I want to break up."

Josh's face dropped.

"I don't understand. I have been trying so hard to be a good boyfriend. I've made friends with your friends. I've…"

"See, that's just it! You shouldn't have to change for anyone." She said. "And neither should I. Jake, I've been trying so hard to make you happy too. I've tried to be someone I'm not. Or at least someone I don't want to be anymore. And you deserve to be with someone who wants what you want."

"But I want to be with you." Josh stammered.

"AND I DON'T LIKE WHO I AM WITH YOU!" Emily cried. "I don't." She said, slightly quieter. "All the times you've put things like 'revenge' and 'fight dirty' in my head when it comes to Finn and Tory… it's just not me. That's not the person I am, or at least not the person I'm trying to be."

Without another word, Josh stood up and walked away. Emily put her head in her hands. That was so hard to do. Josh was an absolute saint to her, and he was the only person in Vocal Adrenaline who wasn't an asshole. The last thing Emily wanted to do was scar him and make him change the way he saw the world. The optimism and brightness he had was exactly what Emily wanted, and she couldn't get that with all the snipes Josh suggested she take at Tory.

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Mr. Schue walked into his office that night to see Jessie already there, smoking a cigar. He smiled when Mr. Schue walked in.

"Hey, Will." Jessie said. "You come to congratulate me on how far I've brought your students?"

"We need to talk." Mr. Schue said. Jessie raised an eyebrow.

"About what?"

"About what you've been putting in my kids' heads whenever I have my back turned."

"Huh. Just been teaching them the way of champions. Same lessons Dustin Goolsby taught me. Strike first, strike hard… no mercy."

"Yeah, that's where we have a problem." Mr. Schue said.

"Oh, do we?" Jessie remarked, slightly bored.

"New Directions needs to change. This battle that you've dug us into with Vocal Adrenaline… it's not where I want us to be. When Dustin taught didn't work back then and it doesn't work now."

"What do you wanna change it to? Something nice and snuggly like a blanket?" Jessie mocked.

"No." Mr. Schue growled. "Glee club will always be badass. But there's a difference between no mercy and no honor."

"Oh. Honor." Jessie chuckled. "Let me tell you something. In war, the other side never fights with any honor."

"That's my point! This isn't a fucking war!" Mr. Schue shouted. "I don't know what shit you went through back then, but these are good kids and they don't need to relive our mistakes."

"The only mistake is teaching them weakness. Like what you backed down from Corcoran's challenge. Is that what the new Glee club is all about?"

"You're trying to get me riled up. It's not gonna work." Mr. Schue said, firmly. "I'm responsible for these students."

"So am I." Jessie growled. "You hired me for this very reason. I see what's going to happen, Schuester. "You're gonna let your guard down. And that's gonna leave your group vulnerable."

"All right. Maybe that's what you think… but this is my classroom and I make the rules. You know what? I thought this could work but I was wrong. You're fired. We're done. I don't ever wanna see you in this classroom again."


	38. Chapter 38

The next day, the New Directions gathered in the choir room. The physical aspect of their training was over, for the most part, and they were beginning their singing portion of training. Finn and Tory were sitting down at the back of the room, trying to organise a date night.

"What about Friday?" Finn suggested. Tory raised an eyebrow.

"We're in Kansas City on Friday for the race, you moron!" She laughed. Finn chuckled and nodded.

"Fine, what about Thursday?" He asked. Tory shook her head.

"Can't. I'm working at the restaurant."

Finn grinned.

"Great. Let's turn it into a date night."

Tory giggled.

"Oh yeah, right? What's the plan? Candlelit dinner at the snack bar on my break?"

Finn shrugged.

"Look, there's nothing more romantic than free hot dogs and chicken nuggets." He joked.

"Free? Not for you. You gotta pay up." She responded.

"I'll splurge." He laughed.

"All right. But you've gotta wear a costume. It's 80's night apparently."

"80's? Are you kidding? I love the 80s! Dibs on Ray from Field of Dreams!"

Tory giggled.

"You know? I don't think you have to call dibs on that."

Before either of them could say anything else, Finn noticed Puck walk in.

"One second, babe." He said, before standing up. He walked over to Puck. Finn had slipped the medal into Carmel High, unseen, so they were good on that front.

"Hey." Finn said.

"What's up?" Puck asked.

"About the Forest, we cool?"

Puck grinned.

"We were enemies for a day, but we're New Directions for life."

Finn smiled and fist-bumped him. At that moment, Mr. Schue walked into the room and everyone turned to him.

"All right! Everybody, listen up. Today we're going to learn one of the most important lessons a McKinley High Glee clubber could ever know."

"Where's Jessie?" Puck asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't we wait for the champ before we get going?" Josh asked. "Or not." He added when he saw Mr. Schue's death glare.

"Jessie will no longer be joining us." Mr. Schue announced. Everyone started murmuring in shock. "I made a promise when I became your teacher: to always look out for your best interests. Despite how hard this may be for all of us, he didn't have our best interests at hard. He may have won a championship or 4, but he doesn't represent what this Glee club stands for. His methods were old and outdated. He refused to move forward. And what happens when you do that, Finn?"

"You get stuck." Finn replied, thinking back to the cement lesson from a month ago.

"Exactly." Mr. Schue smiled. "To be a great performer, you gotta learn to adapt. That creed that Jessie drilled into you guys… Strike hard, strike first, no mercy. Follow it to the letter, it will make you strong. Formidable. But it will also make you an asshole." He said, pointing to the whiteboard, where Jessie had written the mantra. "Cause that's just black pen on a whiteboard. But life's not black and white. More often than not, it's gray. And it's in those gray areas where MY Glee club sometimes shows mercy. Doesn't mean you can slack off. Maximum effort is still a requirement. But you have to learn to think, not just with your gut… or your fists… but to really use your brain. Which is why we're going back to my style of teaching."

They all smiled slightly. Jessie had done wonders for their fitness but in all honesty, there wasn't much else he could've done for them. They had 3 weeks until Regionals so now, it was time to decide on setlists, choreography and vocals.

"OK, first things first… the solo." Mr. Schue said. "Who's claiming it? Finn, you won that competition from two months ago, right?"

Finn nodded.

"I did, but didn't we say that someone else would do it?" He asked. "You know… one of the veterans?"

Rachel shook her head.

"No, you're doing it, Finn." Rachel chimed in. She sighed. "We were being selfish before. Besides, in the past few months, it wasn't one of us veterans who was the leader of the club. It was you. You led us through every drill Jessie made us do. Through hell and high water."

"Oh, and also, you're the best singer. None of us can really deny that." Mercedes added. Finn smiled.

"Thanks guys. It means a lot." He said. Mr. Schue nodded.

"Great, so Finn… you're on the solo. We're also going to perform two group numbers. Finn, can I trust that you work on the solo in your own time? If you need any help, you know where to find me."

"Yeah sounds great, Mr. Schue." Finn replied.

"Cool, so let's start working on one of the group numbers. Does anyone have any ideas in terms of the song?"

They spent the whole lesson finalising a set list. The first group number would be Hall of Fame by The Script, a song that heavily featured the male vocals. The second would be Paradise by the Dashboard Light which was an extremely difficult song that featured the whole group. However, they were extremely satisfied with the song choices and were happier and more relaxed than they had ever been since January.

"Hey, are you guys doing anything tonight?" Mercedes asked the group. They all shook their heads.

"No, why?" Kurt asked.

"Why don't we have a Glee party tonight?" She suggested. "It's been a long, hard month. We need to blow off some steam."

"Sure. Why don't we do it at the abandoned park?" Rachel suggested. They all smiled and nodded.

"Let's do it…" They all said.

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"All right! Everybody take 5! Drink a Red Bull!" Shelby shouted. Vocal Adrenaline had been rehearsing for the past hour straight, and they were exhausted. The group went to go and grab a drink. Although nobody but Jake knew it, it was actually Emily's last week in the group before she moved back to McKinley.

"Jesus, Shelby is working us to the bone, huh?" The member of Vocal Adrenaline that Puck pushed in the dumpster - Demitri - said. They nodded.

"Yeah, we need to blow off some steam." Jake said. "How about we meet up tonight. Maybe get a little loose?"

Emily smiled. She thought back to her New Directions days and had an idea.

"I know just the place we can go…" She said.

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That night, Emily and Vocal Adrenaline all met at the abandoned park and to their surprise, they could already hear loud music and teenagers' voices. They looked at each other, confused.

"There's a lot of people out here already." One of the members remarked.

"Yeah, I guess Jake must have invited other kids from school." She replied.

"I only brought Trivial Pursuit." Demitri, the nerd of the group, complained. "If I'd known there'd be this many people, I would've brought Balderdash too."

The Vocal Adrenaline students walked over to the abandoned park and their mouths dropped… Chilling in the park were New Directions!

She was greeted by the cold glare of everyone in the group and someone cut the music. Tension was at its very highest between the two, warring groups. Emily looked around. She could see everyone: Mercedes, Kurt, Rachel, Tina, Mike, Puck, Artie, Josh, Santana, Brittany. But wait… where was Finn?

Her question was answered a moment later when Tory and Finn walked over to them, laughing and clutching beers in their hands. Emily and Tory's eyes filled with hatred as they saw each other, and Finn looked scared as hell. Tory turned to Finn.

"Let's go." She said. Finn nodded and turned to walk away, his eyes lingering on Emily for a second too long. Everyone glanced at each other nervously. Jake finally made it over to them.

"Guys! I'm so glad you came!" He exclaimed. "Kegs are out back, drinks are in the coolers scattered around."

"Jake, you never said anything about inviting New Directions." Emily glared at him. He shook his head.

"I didn't invite them. They were actually here before I arrived. But I figured that with Regionals coming up pretty soon, we could finally make peace."

"It's wishful thinking." Emily said.

"Emily, trust me." He said. "Get rid of all this negative energy! Clear your mind and have some fun…"

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Despite all odds, the show choirs seemed to be getting along. Whether it was the copious amounts of alcohol or the fact that they weren't in a competitive environment they didn't know. At that moment, they were having a drinking contest in the back. Tory and Josh were both balancing on one leg on stools, and were taking shot after shot until one of them fell or put both feet down.

"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!" They all chanted as the two teenagers took shot after shot after shot. Eventually, Puck's woozy mind caused him to slip and fall. Everyone cheered or awwwed, depending on who they were cheering for.

"Winner and still champion… Tory!" Finn exclaimed. Emily then walked outside and Tory immediately hopped off the stool and walked over to her, staring daggers at the teenager.

"Well, look who it is." Tory remarked. "Maybe you'd like to play a little game? Or are tea parties more your speed, princess?"

"Just give me a cup." She spat. Tory smirked.

"Okay. New game."

The girls stood up on their respective stools and Jake walked over to Emily. He was still extremely pissed about their break up but at the end of the day, he didn't want her to hurt herself.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" He asked her.

"What, you don't think I can beat her?" She snapped. Jake shook his head.

"It's not that." He said. Emily ignored him and the two girls began to chug their drinks.

"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!"

The chant started once again. Emily was already slightly woozy after one drink but she forced herself to keep going.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Meanwhile, on the other side of the park, Puck watched on jealously as Rachel chatted with a random guy from Vocal Adrenaline. He looked up and saw Demitri, the guy he beat up, come over and sit next to him on the bench. Although Puck would never in a million years admit it, him and Demitri had a history. They used to be best friends. Nerds together. They were brothers up until high school. At that point, 'Noah' changed his look and personality to 'Puck', the sleazy, badass player. He had lost the connection he used to have with Demitri when he beat the stuffing out of him.

"You check out the new Doctor Who trailer?" Demitri asked politely.

"I don't watch nerd shit." Puck growled in reply, taking a swig of beer.

"You know, uh… Moffat isn't the showrunner anymore."

Puck's eyes widened.

"Wait, really? Since when? Is there a new Doctor? What's he like?" Puck asked, his badass personality temporarily forgotten. Demitri scoffed.

" _She's_ badass." He replied.

"She?" Puck gasped. "No way."

Suddenly, he heard Rachel giggling, and he turned to see her making out with a random Vocal Adrenaline guy. Demitri sighed.

"I'd give up, man." Demitri commented. "She's moved on."

"Defeat does not exist." Puck replied, quoting Jessie St. James from when he led the Glee club.

"There's that winning attitude that pushed her away in the first place." Demitri remarked. "I think you need a healthy dose of inner peace. It's worked for me."

"Oh yeah?" Puck snarled, before dumping his beer on Demitri's head. "That's what I thought. Still a pussy." He said, before walking away…

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"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!"

Emily and Tory weren't letting up. Despite the fact that Tory had already just played a round of the game against Josh, she seemed to be okay.

"How you doing over there, Cahill?" She asked.

"I could do this all right." Emily replied.

"Yeah? Your leg tells me otherwise." She replied, pointing to Emily's shaky leg. Emily didn't last much longer. She fell off her chair and collapsed on the ground. The New Directions cheered, and Emily ran, tears in her eyes.


	39. Chapter 39

When Emily finally made it back to the main camp, she grabbed a bottle of vodka and started pouring herself another drink. Jake's eyes widened when he saw her and he jogged over.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He asked.

"Don't worry. I'm, like, totally fine." She replied.

"No, you're not. You're not acting like yourself. No more drinking." He said, taking the cup from her. She glared at him.

"What, I'm not allowed to party? Just ice skating for me? You my friend or my babysitter?"

"Just wait here. I'm gonna get you some food." He said, before walking away. Once he was gone, Emily rolled her eyes and began pouring herself another drink. Santana was the next person to walk up to her.

"Maybe you should slow down." Santana remarked.

"Haven't you guys done enough?" Emily snapped. "I mean you crashed our frickin party. Wasn't what you did to our choir room enough?"

"I had nothing to do with that." Santana said. "And neither did Tory or Finn."

Emily scowled at Santana, disbelievingly.

"Why do you think Finn returned Ms. Corcoran's medal?" She remarked. Emily shook her head.

"He didn't return it. Demitri found it in the choir room.

"Yeah, and who do you think left it there. Puck was the one who stole it and Finn stole it back and gave it to you guys."

Emily stepped back a moment.

"Emily?" Santana asked, concerned.

"I… I need some air." She said, walking away. Meanwhile, in their main camp, suddenly, someone plugged in a microphone so there was brief screeching feedback. Everyone groaned and turned towards the sound. They realised that it was the extremely soft-spoken Demitri who had the mic in his hands.

"Excuse me! I'd like to make a toast." He announced. "To Noah Puckerman."

"Who's that?" A lot of people mumbled.

"Oh!" Demitri chuckled. "I'm sorry. Some of you might know him as Puck. But underneath that crazy clown cosplay and whatever type of Manic Panic he dumps in his hair, he's still good old Noah. My binary brother. Well, he _was_ my binary brother. You know what he is now? A real ZERO."

Everyone laughed and Puck stared daggers at his old friend.

"All right, that's enough, Demitri!" Puck growled. Demitri chuckled.

"Don't let that angry red hairdo fool you. He's a big softie. We watched every Harry Potter movie together. And he bawled like a baby when Dumbledore died!"

Everyone snickered and laughed at Puck, who was blushing slightly.

"All right, if he doesn't shut up, I'm going to shut him up." Puck muttered to Josh. Josh shook his head.

"Hey, remember what Mr. Schue said about showing mercy." He replied.

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Emily was sitting on a bench away from everyone else, too tired and sick to cry. She heard someone walking up behind her and she turned around to see Finn.

"Hey, Emily. Is… everything okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She snapped back. Finn sighed.

"Never mind." He replied, and he started to walk away. Emily stood up.

"Finn, wait." She said. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Finn asked.

"I didn't know you returned the medal." She said. "It was really important to the group, and to me. So, thank you."

"Yeah, well… it shouldn't have gotten stolen in the first place." He remarked. "I'm just glad you got it back.

"Me too." She replied, and tried to walk towards Finn but she stumbled and was about to hit the dirt but Finn caught her. Their faces were inches apart and simultaneously, they leaned in and kissed. Finn pulled apart almost instantly.

"No. We… we shouldn't have… I'm with Tory. And you have Jake."

"I… I'm sorry." She said. "I have to go."

Emily stumbled away. Finn groaned in annoyance. That extremely brief kiss felt better than all of his kisses with Tory combined. There was something about Emily that Finn knew that he was never going to get with anyone else. He knew what he had to do. That didn't mean it was going to be easy though…

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"In the words of Noah's hero, Steve Jobs. I've got one more thing." Demitri said. "Have any of you heard of sleep enuresis?"

Everyone muttered, confused. What the hell was that? Puck's face paled though.

"Don't." He murmured, softly, almost begging. Demitri rolled his eyes. It wasn't like Puck had shown mercy when he kicked the crap out of him.

"That is the medical term, of course. In the King's English, it's good old-fashioned bed-wetting."

Everyone burst out laughing hysterically.

"And Noah here is a pro. My mom even had a special air mattress for sleepovers. And she called it… Noah's waterbed."

"Screw mercy." Puck growled. "You're a corpse!" He shouted. The two boys squared up to each other but before they could throw a single punch, the punch was lit up blue and red, the color of police sirens.

"Cops!" Someone shouted. Sirens wailed and they all went into a frenzy. Everyone started running away from the park as fast as they could.

"Demitri, you got lucky!" Puck shouted as Demitri blended in with the rest of the retreating group.

"Oh, I can't go to jail. My mom will kill me!" Josh exclaimed. As soon as Finn heard sirens, he heard one thought and one thought alone… Emily. He ran through the whole park looking for her until he found her, stumbling to her feet, clearly in no shape to run.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you! We gotta go!" He shouted.

"I'm so sorry, Finn." She slurred.

"It's okay. We just gotta get you home." Finn said, reassuringly. Emily's eyes widened.

"NO!" She shouted. "My parents are gonna freak if they see me like this."

Finn sighed and thought for a moment.

"It's fine. You can stay tonight at my place. Now let's go!"

The two of them quickly retreated from the park together and began to run down the street. About halfway, Emily collapsed, unconscious. Finn sighed and picked her up. She was probably less than half Finn's weight so it was pretty easy to carry her. Another bonus was that Finn's family were all out of town for the weekend so he didn't have to worry about sneaking Emily in and out. She was still out to the world so Finn just laid her on his bed and he spent the night on the living room sofa…

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The next day, Emily woke up extremely hungover, much to Finn's amusement. He made as much noise as he possibly could until she left the house, and he drove to school himself moments later. He couldn't stop thinking about their kiss from the night before. Despite the fact that both of them were drunk, the kiss felt so… right. He needed to break things up with Tory but quite frankly, he didn't know how. Despite her prickly exterior, Tory was a sweet person and he didn't want to hurt her. He found her in the school relatively quickly. She was by the lockers and when she saw him, she immediately knew what was about to happen.

"Can we talk in private?" Finn asked. Tory nodded and then walked outside to the bleachers. Once they were both seated, Finn took a deep breath and began talking.

"Look… I was really hoping it wouldn't come down to this, but unfortunately it has. Emily was such a huge part of my life and I'm sorry but I can't end that. You're an amazing person and a really good friend and I just hope that we can still be friends after this. Can you accept that?"

Tory leaned in and took his hands in her own.

"Finn… I really hope you get her someday."

With that, Tory stood up and walked away. Finn put his head in his hands. That was rough, but at least it was over.

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Glee club was insanely physically difficult for them. Although they weren't dancing or doing physical training, all of them were nursing wicked hangovers so they couldn't really sing. Mr. Schue noticed and he sighed.

"Seriously, guys? What happened last night?" He asked.

"A lot." Mercedes grumbled. "Let's just say it started with Vocal Adrenaline crashing our party and it ended with the cops coming."

Mr. Schue chuckled and groaned.

"Oh, Jesus. Do I even want to know what happened in between?" He asked. They laughed and shook their heads. "Well, in other news… we have a new student. Well, not really new. It's a returning student coming back."

"Matt?" Puck asked.

"Sam?" Finn grumbled.

"Quinn?" Rachel murmured.

"No, me you idiots." Someone said from the doorway. They all turned around to see Emily standing by the door. She looked around at the group nervously. "Hey guys." She said. Everyone turned to Tory, who was surprisingly calm about all this.

"Emily?" Santana stammered.

"Hey." She said.

"Woah, this is bullshit!" Rachel shouted. "Over the past month or so, we've been through literal hell. Jessie's workouts were the toughest thing any of us has ever been through. How is it fair or her to be able to waltz in here after all that shit and rejoin."

Emily suddenly looked a lot more nervous. She obviously didn't expect to be welcomed back with open arms; but she didn't think she would be turned away completely.

"I say let her back in." Tory said. Everyone looked at her like she was an alien. Tory was the last person people expected to agree to letting Emily in.

"Wait, really? You?" Artie asked, incredulously. "Is this like a keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer type thing?"

Tory laughed.

"No, I wish. I just think anyone who wants a place in the club and can sing deserves a place. You guys made me feel so welcome here, and I feel like the best way to thank you is to be that welcoming towards the next person."

Mr. Schue smiled.

"That's amazing to hear, Tory. Emily, welcome back. I can't guarantee you solos given that you did just join our enemy, but I can guarantee you a spot in the club. Congrats…"

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That afternoon, Finn and Emily decided to sit down and talk about their relationship, or potential relationship.

"Um… look, Finn. I'm not going to deny that I do have feelings for you." Emily said. "Strong feelings. But we both just got out of honest to god relationships. So, what… what do we do now?"

"Well, part of me wants to go out with you now, but I don't think it would be right to jump into something else so quickly."

"Yeah, I agree. We both need time to deal with what happened with Tory and Jake so we don't bring in any baggage with whatever happens next."

"And when exactly does whatever happens next happen?" Finn asked, nervously.

"I don't know." Emily replied. "Two weeks seems too soon."

"Yeah, but six weeks seems like way too long." Finn added.

"So, how about three weeks?"

"I've waited 18 years to be with the love of my life. What's one more month?"


	40. Chapter 40

**2 weeks and 6 days later…**

_Valtteri Bottas fired!_

_Mercedes ace receives contract terminations!_

_Driver given the boot after underwhelming season!_

Finn wolf-whistled as he read the F1 headlines. After an awful season, Valtteri Bottas had officially been dumped out of the supreme F1 team at the end of the season. He had come 8th place out of the 20 drivers on the grid, which was pretty bad given that both Mercedes drivers should at least be in the top 4 given that their car was the best on the grid. In all honesty, Bottas deserved the sack after his season but it was still a huge shock. Finn sipped his coffee as he read through the article. He didn't have much time to read it because they had Regionals today!

His mom came downstairs moments later and she smiled at him.

"Hey, Finn." She said. "Are you excited for today?"

Finn nodded.

"Yeah."

"Nervous?"

Finn smiled and shook his head.

"Honestly, not really. More relieved than anything else. Our feud with Vocal Adrenaline will finally be over. One of us is making it to Nationals, one of us isn't."

"Yeah, but aren't you kind of nervous about it, you know… given that a lot of it rides on you?"

Finn shrugged.

"Not really. Or at least… I'm used to it by now from all the races."

Finn ended up driving to school at around 8 am that morning as they were told to meet at the front of the school at 8:30. They were driving to Cincinnati for Regionals and they were competing against a team from Louisville called the Hipsters. They were a group of elderly men and women who were trying to complete their high school degrees. They were a pretty hard group to compete against as although they weren't amazing, they were pretty adorable. After all, who doesn't smile at 80 year olds singing? Their other opponent was, of course, Vocal Adrenaline from Carmel High.

The morning was cold and damp as the New Directions clambered onto the bus together. Finn was the last to come on board and he walked to the very back of the vehicle. He sat next to Josh on one of the back seats. He smiled at his friend. After all the girl drama he had been through in the recent past, he hadn't gotten much of a chance to catch up with his friends. The three weeks without Emily had been extremely difficult - they hadn't even spoken to each other during that time - and he was ecstatic that it was finally almost over.

"Hey dude." Finn said to Josh. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"

Josh raised an eyebrow.

"Um… we do spend practically every morning together in Glee and every other afternoon racing together. I'm not imagining that, right?"

Finn laughed.

"You know what I mean." Finn rolled his eyes. Josh nodded.

"Yeah, I know." Josh replied. "Are you ready for your solo?"

Before Finn could answer, Rachel peeked her head over the top of the seat in front.

"You'd better!" She said. "This is my last chance to win Nationals and I'm not letting you screw this up!"

Finn smiled fakely at Rachel.

"I'm sorry. Who was talking to you again? Josh, were you talking to Rachel?"

"No, I wasn't." He replied. Finn smirked.

"Well, I wasn't talking to her so…"

Rachel scowled at them and turned back around.

"Finn! Josh! That's enough!" Mr. Schue called from the front of the bus. Finn and Josh laughed and rolled their eyes. They chatted about F1 until they finally arrived in Cincinnati. They hopped out of the bus and into the building relatively quickly, and Mr. Schue signed them in. He walked back to the group, who were sitting in the entrance area, and smiled at them.

"OK guys. We are the second team to perform. First are the Hipsters. Then us. Then Vocal Adrenaline."

Everyone smiled. That was good, not that the order really mattered. They just hoped and prayed that Sectionals didn't happen again and their songs were stolen. Luckily, it didn't happen but that was the least of their problems. Their problem was that the standard of the performances were MUCH, MUCH higher than the standard of the groups at Sectionals. Even the Hipsters were pretty good. Their rendition of The Living Years by Mike and the Mechanics was pretty decent, and they shouldn't be counted out at all. The New Directions were the next group set to perform and they gathered in the green room for a final pep talk.

"OK guys." Mr. Schue said. "I honestly don't know what to say at this point. You all know the stakes. Regionals are on the lines. A trip to New York is on the line. But if there's one thing I want you guys to do, it's have fun. This could potentially be your last ever competitive show choir performance. Make the most of it. Have fun. Enjoy yourselves. I have loved teaching and getting to know each and every one of you and I feel like a proud father watching you guys perform. Good luck…"

With that, he left and took his seat in the audience. The New Directions took a deep breath. They decided on a unique, unusual order for their songs. Their first song would be Hall of Fame, the second Paradise By the Dashboard Light. Finn, rather than opening the show, would be closing it with his solo. The New Directions got ready, took a deep breath and started the biggest performance of their lives…

_Yeah, you can be the greatest_

_You can be the best_

_You can be the King Kong banging on your chest_

_You can beat the world_

_You can beat the war_

_You can talk to God, go banging on his door_

_You can throw your hands up_

_You can beat the clock (yeah)_

_You can move a mountain_

_You can break rocks_

_You can be a master_

_Don't wait for luck_

_Dedicate yourself and you gon' find yourself_

_Standing in the hall of fame (yeah)_

_And the world's gonna know your name (yeah)_

_'Cause you burn with the brightest flame (yeah)_

_And the world's gonna know your name (yeah)_

_And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame_

_You can go the distance_

_You can run the mile_

_You can walk straight through hell with a smile_

_You can be the hero_

_You can get the gold_

_Breaking all the records they thought never could be broke_

_Yeah, do it for your people_

_Do it for your pride_

_How are you ever gonna know if you never even try?_

_Do it for your country_

_Do it for your name_

_'Cause there's gonna be a day..._

_When you're standing in the hall of fame (yeah)_

_And the world's gonna know your name (yeah)_

_'Cause you burn with the brightest flame (yeah)_

_And the world's gonna know your name (yeah)_

_And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame_

_Be a champion, be a champion, be a champion, be a champion_

_On the walls of the hall of fame_

_Be students_

_Be teachers_

_Be politicians_

_Be preachers_

_(Yeah)_

_Be believers_

_Be leaders_

_Be astronauts_

_Be champions_

_Be truth seekers_

_Be students_

_Be teachers_

_Be politicians_

_Be preachers_

_Be believers_

_Be leaders_

_Be astronauts_

_Be champions_

_Standing in the hall of fame (yeah, yeah, yeah)_

_And the world's gonna know your name (yeah, yeah, yeah)_

_'Cause you burn with the brightest flame (yeah, yeah, yeah)_

_And the world's gonna know your name (yeah, yeah, yeah)_

_And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame_

_(Be a champion)_

_You could be the greatest_

_You can be the best_

_(Be a champion)_

_You can be the King Kong banging on your chest_

_(Be a champion)_

_You could beat the world_

_You could beat the war_

_(Be a champion)_

_You could talk to God, go banging on his door_

_(Be a champion)_

_You can throw your hands up_

_(Be a champion)_

_You can beat the clock (yeah)_

_You can move a mountain_

_(Be a champion)_

_You can break rocks_

_(Be a champion)_

_You can be a master_

_Don't wait for luck_

_(Be a champion)_

_Dedicate yourself and you gonna find yourself_

_Standing in the hall of fame_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=A_4Dy2N66H0**

**Or search… "Hall of Fame Glee"**

At the end of the first song, they barely took a breath before preparing for the second. They were in their element, everyone and everything working like clockwork. Jessie's insane workouts had built them into fantastic dancers and none of them were out of breath when they sang, causing a much clearer tone to their voices. Mr. Schue beamed as he watched his group perform. Soon, the New Directions moved onto their new song - Paradise by the Dashboard Light…

_Well I remember every little thing_

_As if it happened only yesterday_

_Parking by the lake_

_And there was not another car in sight_

_And I never had a girl_

_Looking any better than you did_

_And all the kids at school_

_They were wishing they were me that night_

_And now our bodies are, oh, so close and tight_

_It never felt so good, it never felt so right_

_And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife_

_Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife_

_C'mon, hold on tight_

_Well, c'mon, hold on tight_

_Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night_

_I can see paradise by the dashboard light_

_Ain't no doubt about it we were doubly blessed_

_'Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely dressed_

_Ain't no doubt about it_

_Baby, got to go out and shout it_

_Ain't no doubt about it_

_We were doubly blessed_

_'Cause we were barely seventeen_

_And we were barely dressed_

_Baby, don't you hear my heart_

_You got it drowning out the radio_

_I've been waiting so long_

_For you to come along and have some fun_

_Well, I gotta let you know_

_No, you're never gonna regret it_

_So open up your eyes_

_I got a big surprise_

_It'll feel all right_

_Well, I wanna make your motor run_

_And now our bodies are, oh, so close and tight_

_It never felt so good, it never felt so right_

_And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife_

_Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife_

_C'mon, hold on tight_

_Well, c'mon, hold on tight_

_Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night_

_I can see paradise by the dashboard light_

_Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night_

_Paradise by the dashboard light_

_You got to do what you can_

_And let Mother Nature do the rest_

_Ain't no doubt about it_

_We were doubly blessed_

_'Cause we were barely seventeen_

_And we were barely_

_[4x]_

_We're gonna go all the way tonight_

_We're gonna go all the way_

_And tonight's the night_

_OK, here we go, we got a real pressure cooker going here_

_Two down, nobody on, no score, bottom of the ninth_

_There's the wind-up, and there it is_

_A line shot up the middle, look at him go_

_This boy can really fly_

_He's rounding first and really turning it on now_

_He's not letting up at all, he's gonna try for second_

_The ball is bobbled out in the center_

_And here comes the throw and what a throw_

_He's gonna slide in head first_

_Here he comes, he's out_

_No, wait, safe, safe at second base_

_This kid really makes things happen out there_

_Batter steps up to the plate_

_Here's the pitch, he's going_

_And what a jump he's got_

_He's trying for third_

_Here's the throw_

_It's in the dirt, safe at third_

_Holy cow, stolen base_

_He's taking a pretty big lead out there_

_Almost daring them to pick him off_

_The pitcher glances over, winds-up and it's bunted_

_Bunted down the third base line_

_The suicide squeeze is on_

_Here he comes, squeeze play, it's gonna be close_

_Here's the throw, here's the play at the plate_

_Holy cow, I think he's gonna make it_

_Stop right there_

_I gotta know right now_

_Before we go any further_

_Do you love me?_

_Will you love me forever?_

_Do you need me?_

_Will you never leave me?_

_Will you make me so happy_

_For the rest of my life?_

_Will you take me away_

_Will you make me your wife?_

_Do you love me?_

_Will you love me forever?_

_Do you need me?_

_Will you never leave me?_

_Will you make me so happy_

_For the rest of my life?_

_Will you take me away_

_And will you make me your wife?_

_I gotta know right now_

_Before we go any further_

_Do you love me?_

_Will you love me forever?_

_Let me sleep on it_

_Baby, baby, let me sleep on it_

_Let me sleep on it_

_I'll give you an answer in the morning_

_Let me sleep on it_

_Baby, baby, let me sleep on it_

_Let me sleep on it_

_I'll give you an answer in the morning_

_Let me sleep on it_

_Baby, baby, let me sleep on it_

_Let me sleep on it_

_I'll give you an answer in the morning_

_I gotta know right now_

_Do you love me?_

_Will you love me forever?_

_Do you need me?_

_Will you never leave me?_

_Will you make me so happy_

_For the rest of my life?_

_Will you take me away_

_Will you make me your wife?_

_I gotta know right now_

_Before we go any further_

_Do you love me?_

_Will you love me forever?_

_What's it gonna be, boy?_

_Come on. I can wait all night_

_What's it gonna be, boy?_

_Yes or no?_

_What's it gonna be, boy?_

_Yes or no?_

_Let me sleep on it_

_Baby, baby, let me sleep on it_

_Well, let me sleep on it_

_I'll give you an answer in the morning_

_I gotta know right now_

_Do you love me_

_Will you love me forever_

_Do you need me_

_Will you never leave me_

_Will you make me so happy_

_For the rest of my life_

_Will you take me away_

_Will you make me your wife_

_I gotta know right now_

_Before we go any further_

_Do you love me_

_Will you love me forever_

_Let me sleep on it_

_Will you love me forever_

_Let me sleep on it_

_Will you love me forever_

_I couldn't take it any longer_

_Lord, I was crazed_

_And when the feeling came upon me_

_Like a tidal wave_

_I started swearing to my god_

_And on my mother's grave_

_That I would love you to the end of time_

_I swore I'd love you to the end of time_

_So now I'm praying for the end of time_

_To hurry up and arrive_

_'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you_

_I don't think that I can really survive_

_I'll never break my promise or forget my vow_

_But God only knows what I can do right now_

_I'm praying for the end of time_

_It's all that I can do (ooh, ooh)_

_Praying for the end of time_

_So I can end my time with you_

_It was long ago and it was far away_

_And it was so much better than it is today_

_It never felt so good, it never felt so right_

_And we were glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=86g_hQBs9gw &ab_channel=MusicOfGlee**

**Or Search… "Paradise by the Dashboard Light Glee"**


	41. Chapter 41

_**CHAPTER 43** _

After their main group number, the crowd was roaring. The New Directions had completely transformed as a group since last year and were genuine contenders for Nationals, provided they made it past Vocal Adrenaline of course. It was now all riding on Finn to deliver for his final solo. The whole group had gathered backstage to watch Finn's performance, and he walked to the front of the stage, mic in hand. He was pretty nervous about the performance, not because of the prospect of singing in front of 500 people; he was nervous about his song choice. When he had picked his song, he was still torn over Tory vs. Emily and his heart was throbbing. Now, he was happy so he was scared he couldn't deliver the emotional song as well as he used to. His fist clenched around the microphone. NO! He got this! He had to anyways. The whole group was relying on him. Before his brain could spiral even more, the music started and Finn began to sing…

_I remember years ago_

_Someone told me I should take_

_Caution when it comes to love_

_I did_

_And you were strong and I was not_

_My illusion, my mistake_

_I was careless, I forgot_

_I did_

_And now when all is done_

_There is nothing to say_

_You have gone and so effortlessly_

_You have won_

_You can go ahead tell them_

_Tell them all I know now_

_Shout it from the roof tops_

_Write it on the sky line_

_All we had is gone now_

_Tell them I was happy_

_And my heart is broken_

_All my scars are open_

_Tell them what I hoped would be_

_Impossible, impossible_

_Impossible, impossible_

_Falling out of love is hard_

_Falling for betrayal is worse_

_Broken trust and broken hearts_

_I know, I know_

_Thinking all you need is there_

_Building faith on love and words_

_Empty promises will wear_

_I know, I know_

_And now when all is done_

_There is nothing to say_

_And if you're done with embarrassing me_

_On your own you can go ahead tell them_

_Tell them all I know now_

_Shout it from the roof tops_

_Write it on the sky line_

_All we had is gone now_

_Tell them I was happy_

_And my heart is broken_

_All my scars are open_

_Tell them what I hoped would be_

_Impossible, impossible_

_Impossible, impossible_

_I remember years ago_

_Someone told me I should take_

_Caution when it comes to love_

_I did_

_Tell them all I know now_

_Shout it from the roof tops_

_Write it on the sky line_

_All we had is gone now_

_Tell them I was happy_

_And my heart is broken_

_(Tell them oh) I hoped would be_

_Impossible, impossible_

_Impossible, impossible_

_Impossible, impossible_

_Impossible, impossible_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=Lh2oWbaRvQg &ab_channel=TheXFactorUK**

**Or search… "James Arthur sings Shontelle's Impossible X Factor final"**

Despite Finn's fears, he had done a superb job at the emotional number and every member of the audience had tears in their eyes by the time he reached the heart-wrenching final chorus. As Finn was singing, Tory side glanced at Emily, who was watching Finn with such love in her eyes. Although she used to hate the girl, after she got to know her and she heard about Finn and Emily waiting a couple of weeks before dating out of respect for her, she had a newfound respect for Emily. She nudged Emily and the girl to face her.

"Thank you." Tory said. Emily's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Thank you for making him happy." She said. "I know you and I have had our differences, but the truth is you make him happier than he ever was with me. He deserves the very best and for him, that means you. Not me."

Emily smiled at her.

"Hey, I'm really sorry for everything I did to you while you and Finn were dating. I know I said that a lot of the ideas were my boyfriend's ideas, but that's still no excuse. I reacted really badly because, quite frankly, I was jealous. I mean… look at you! You're so hot!"

Tory laughed.

"Thanks. Right back at you." She replied and the two of them then watched as Finn finished singing and walked off stage. He again purposely avoided Emily because he didn't want to be tempted to kiss her or anything. He stuck by Josh as the New Directions walked back to the greenroom and celebrated. But they were all too tired to party. The performance and the stress leading up to it had left all of them utterly drained. They collapsed onto the various sofas in the greenroom and watched Vocal Adrenaline's performance. Vocal Adrenaline had also gone with an unorthodox performance format. For them, they decided on just one performance. One song to lift them back up for their 8th consecutive crown. They decided to sing one of the most iconic songs of all time… Bohemian Rhapsody.

_Is this the real life?_

_Is this just fantasy?_

_Caught in a landslide,_

_No escape from reality._

_Open your eyes,_

_Look up to the skies and see,_

_I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,_

_Because I'm easy come, easy go,_

_Little high, little low,_

_Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me._

_Mama, just killed a man,_

_Put a gun against his head,_

_Pulled my trigger, now he's dead._

_Mama, life had just begun,_

_But now I've gone and thrown it all away._

_Mama, ooh,_

_Didn't mean to make you cry,_

_If I'm not back again this time tomorrow,_

_Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters._

_Too late, my time has come,_

_Sends shivers down my spine,_

_Body's aching all the time._

_Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go,_

_Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth._

_Mama, ooh (Any way the wind blows),_

_I don't want to die,_

_I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all._

_I see a little silhouetto of a man,_

_Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?_

_Thunderbolt and lightning very, very frightening me._

_(Galileo) Galileo._

_(Galileo) Galileo,_

_Galileo Figaro_

_Magnifico-o-o-o-o._

_I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me._

_He's just a poor boy from a poor family,_

_Spare him his life from this monstrosity._

_Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?_

_Bismillah! No, we will not let you go. (Let him go!)_

_Bismillah! We will not let you go. (Let him go!)_

_Bismillah! We will not let you go. (Let me go!)_

_Will not let you go. (Let me go!)_

_Never let you go (Never, never, never, never let me go)_

_Oh oh oh oh_

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no_

_Oh, mama mia, mama mia (Mama mia, let me go.)_

_Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me._

_So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?_

_So you think you can love me and leave me to die?_

_Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby,_

_Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here._

_(Ooooh, ooh yeah, ooh yeah)_

_Nothing really matters,_

_Anyone can see,_

_Nothing really matters,_

_Nothing really matters to me._

_Any way the wind blows…_

Nobody could deny that Vocal Adrenaline absolutely crushed it. They had spent 4 months on that one number and it was absolutely insane! In the green room, the New Directions looked at each other nervously. It was honestly any one's game and it was up to the judges, who were deliberating as they spoke…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The four judges were Olivia Newton-John, John Groban, Rod Remington, and the guest judge… a rude, obnoxious TV personality called Paula Morris. Paula stormed into the room as the judges started to deliberate…

"Newton-John… you're dead to me. Remington, Groban, have a seat! I don't care who comes in first, I don't care who places second, but I have a very strong opinion on who comes in third."

"Paula… if I may." Rod said, standing up. "That Freddie Mercury song had me a-moving and a-shaking. And I'm talking old school. You know, I partied with Freddie Mercury back in the 80s, and I partied… hard." He winked. He was referring to, of course, Vocal Adrenaline's performance of Bohemian Rhapsody.

"I for one…" Olivia Newton-John started. "Am offended that only one of the groups chose to honour me in song. I think the Hipsters should win."

The Hipsters had also sung a unique cover of Summer Nights.

"I have something to say." John Groban said. "What about those New Directions? They were young, energetic, and they had a lot of… heart."

"Heart?" Paula scoffed. "Oh please. Talk about blatant tokenism. That whole 'We're inspiring, we're a ragtag bunch of misfits thing is so 2009.'"

"Now hold on just a second." Newton-John said. "The New Directions were really good in my opinion. And that boy, he had it all: young, attractive, he had dreamy vocals. I like that."

"This isn't a dating show. This is show choir, Olivia." Paula snapped. Rod raised a hand.

"Okay, okay okay. Let's vote." Rod said.

"However, my problem with the New Directions is that production values simply weren't there. Couldn't they have afforded better costumes? They were basically wearing everyday clothes! Are they a poor person's school?" Olivia said.

"I thought that that tall brunette guy had an amazing voice." Groban said, referring to Finn's vocals.

"Brunettes have no place in show business." Newton-John spat.

"Come on! They're just kids!" Paula said, surprised.

"That's no excuse! By the time I was 14, I had already formed a band. When Josh Groban was 14, he was already in the Mickey Mouse club, or something?" Newton-John argued.

"Well, I feel like I should point out that not all kids are offered the same opportunities as others." Paula said. She knew this well as she was also a part time teacher in one of the local schools in Louisville.

"Is that what you tell yourself to get to sleep at night?" Newton-John spat. "Some people just simply don't have talent. You think you're a celebrity? You're not. You just try hard, that's all."

Paula was taken aback by this insult. She was a pretty frightening person so wasn't used to being insulted like that.

"Olivia Newton-John has a point." Rod Remington said. "You have a lot in common with those kids at that Ohio school. Underachievers with delusions of grandeur."

"Can we just vote?" Paula snapped.

"Let's…" Rod Remington said. Sheets of paper were handed out, and the judges wrote down their winners…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for waiting for us judges to deliberate. It was a hard decision. All three of the groups that performed today have the potential to win Nationals. But, we have come to a decision. In third place… The Hipsters." Rod Remington - the head judge - said.

The Hipsters cheered, collected their small, third place trophy and walked off the stage. The New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline remained on stage. The tension in the room was palpable. It was dead silent - they could've heard a pin drop in the auditorium. After a lengthy pause to add to the drama, Rod Remington announced the winner.

"And the winner, proceeding to the National Show Choir Championships in New York in May… The New Directions!"

The New Directions screamed, jumped and hugged one another. They were going to Nationals for the first time in 2 decades! They had nothing stopping them from winning the whole competition! Finn, in particular, was congratulated by the rest of the group, as it was his solo that pushed the judges over the edge. They danced around on stage, relishing in their sweet victory over their rivals.

"WE'RE GOING TO NEW YORK!" Santana screamed.

"WE'RE GOING TO WIN THIS WHOLE COMPETITION!" Quinn exclaimed.

"Yeah, thank you so much for all of the work you put in. I'm so proud of you guys." Mr. Schue said. Suddenly, Finn's watch chimed and he looked at it. His eyes widened. It was 7:59 pm exactly. He quickly hurried over to Emily and tapped her on the shoulder.

"I need to talk to you about something RIGHT NOW!" He exclaimed, gesturing to the backstage area. He walked backstage and she quickly joined him.

"Is it about you ghosting me for 3 weeks because you owe me an explanation!" She pouted. Finn smiled faintly at her.

"5… 4… 3… 2… 1…" He counted down before pulling her into a deep kiss. They made out until they finally had to break apart for air.

"Wow." Emily murmured, against his lips. "What was that all about?"

"It's 8 pm! We're officially dating!" He exclaimed. "This is it. The beginning of our happily ever after."

"Well, aren't you Prince Charming." She remarked, pulling him into another kiss. They then joined the rest of the group and spent the rest of the night celebrating their win. After the celebrations, the New Directions climbed back onto the bus, worn out after the long, stressful day, but overall, satisfied with their performance. Finn sat next to Emily close to the back of the bus. On the way back to McKinley, the bus was pretty quiet. Some people whispered quietly to the person next to them, others went on their phones for the majority of the journey, and others just slept. Around 10 minutes into the journey, Emily put her head on Finn's shoulder, and she fell asleep. Finn put his arm around her and kissed her forehead gently. The truck softly rumbled down the expressway, and Finn was totally at peace. It was an incredible night and one of the best of Finn's life - not because of their Regionals win, but because he was back with the love of his life. And, almost as importantly, the phone call that was about to follow…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

At around 11 pm, the New Directions finally pulled into the McKinley parking lot and they went their separate ways for the night. Finn climbed into his car and just as he was about to start driving, his phone rang. Finn raised an eyebrow. That was strange. His family wouldn't be calling him given that he was literally on his way home; he had just seen the Glee club. Who could it possibly be? Even weirder, Finn checked his phone and it shows as an Unknown Number with an L.A code. He answered the phone…

"Hello?" He asked.

"Hi. Is this Finn? Finn Hudson?" A vaguely familiar voice asked. Finn couldn't quite place where he knew it from though. It was almost as if he had heard it on TV.

"Yeah, speaking. May I ask who's this?"

"This is Toto Wolff. I'm the Mercedes F1 CEO. Perhaps you've heard of me."

Finn nearly dropped his phone. That was it! He had heard the voice on various F1 interviews so he knew it wasn't a prank call! Still, why in the world was the CEO of the biggest racing team in the world be calling him?

"Yeah, I've heard of you. Can I help you with something, Mr. Wolff?"

"So, here's the deal." He said, straight to the point. "As you know, we have recently let go of one of our drivers - Valtteri Bottas. Also, I feel like you would know that Mercedes F1 have scouts all over the world, ranging from karting level up to Formula 2 and 3 levels. Your recent performances, as well as your races back in the Middle East, greatly impressed our scouts and we would like to offer you an opportunity. On May 25th, we would like to fly you out to L.A so you can try for a spot on our F1 team."

Finn's jaw dropped.

"I'm… I'm sorry. Are you offering me a job?"

"Unfortunately not." Toto replied. "I am offering you a try out. We are flying in 3 drivers from around the world, including you, and you guys are going to spend the weekend on the L.A track in one of our cars. You will then each get 3 laps to try and put in the fastest time you could possibly get. Best time wins a 2 year contract with Mercedes. Congratulations, Mr. Hudson. You're in the top three. So what do you say?"

Finn finally regained his wits.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll do it!"


	42. Chapter 42

When Finn hung up the phone, he slumped into his seat. He couldn't believe it! He had a try out for an F1 team! No, the best F1 team! Driving for Mercedes had been a pipe dream his whole life and he was struggling to wrap his head around the fact that the dream could easily become a reality in the coming months. He just needed to impress in a try out. He could do it!

Finn drove home that night a winner in 3 different ways: he was a Regional Show Choir Champion; he was back together with Emily, and he was in the top 3 contenders for a space on Mercedes F1 team. The F1 opportunity was an incredibly unusual one. Normally, in F1, drivers would start in smaller teams such as Alpha Tauri and Williams Racing, and then would be promoted to bigger teams after a couple of impressive seasons in F1. Never did an F1 giant take a rookie! Well, times change.

When he walked into the house, everyone was asleep so he tiptoed upstairs without being heard. He took a quick shower and then collapsed on his bed, falling asleep with a massive grin on his face.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Senior year was going by faster than Finn ever imagined it would. After their first ever Regionals win and earning a spot to Nationals in New York, the Glee club was finally becoming more respected at school. However, the New Directions didn't earn respect because of their performances: they earned respect because of how they handled their rivalry with Vocal Adrenaline and Carmel High.

It was already April and the temperatures were rising. People had put their winter coats away and now wore t-shirts and shorts to school. In addition, College decisions were being made right and left. Although Finn wanted a future in F1, in case that didn't pan out immediately after high school, he had still applied to various colleges. He obviously wasn't getting into the same top tier schools as people such as Rachel and Emily but given his average academic scores and many extra-curriculars, he definitely stood a chance at getting into a second-tier school. Finn didn't quite know what he wanted to study though. His strengths were in languages, solving puzzles and his physical/social abilities; all of the career quizzes he took pointed him in the direction of the military/government/police force but Finn wasn't interested in putting himself in the line of fire in that way. Instead, he decided to study psychology, due to his approachable, kind personality. Emily also commented that it was the perfect job for him, provided racing didn't work out, as he was the sweetest, most patient person she had ever met.

He had an interview at Ohio State the upcoming weekend and Emily was still waiting to hear back from Princeton. They were the only two New Directions seniors who had not yet decided where to go. Driving home from school the day before his interview, Finn felt very worried. His friends had received scholarships to various schools, be they academic, sports or music. Still, he'd come a long way. In his early high school days, it looked like his only hope would be community college. He tried to calm himself by telling himself that he was a good candidate, and he would probably get in somewhere.

The night before his interview, Finn pulled into the driveway and went inside to find his mother making cookies in the kitchen. She looked up at her son.

"Finn, you have your interview with Ohio State tomorrow. I want you to pick out something nice to wear."

Finn rolled his eyes. As if he could forget! He was already very nervous.

"Mom, it doesn't matter to me what I wear." Finn replied. His mom shook her head.

"First impressions are key. You know that! Your clothes are, you know…"

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with my clothes, Mom?"

"Well, no offence, but they make you look like an average jock. Sarah and I went out and got some new clothes for you. They're upstairs, go pick out something to wear."

Sarah? Finn definitely didn't trust Sarah with his wardrobe.

"Go pick out something to wear, Finn, just be done by eight."

"Why by 8?"

"Your hair is getting way too long and messy. I want it to look nice at your interview. So I called the barber and made an appointment to get it cut. You haven't cut it in months."

"It's not even that bad!" Finn exclaimed. "You should see Josh's hair!"

"That's Josh's mom's business. I'm not letting you go to your interview without a shorter, neater haircut."

Finn rolled his eyes and walked up to his room. It was stressful enough as it was. The other schools he'd applied to had given him reasonable financial aid, but Ohio State was the only school offering him an opportunity for a racing scholarship. He thought he looked fine and was annoyed with his mother. He got out his phone and texted Emily…

**Finn:** _My mom and Kurt bought some clothes for me to pick out for my interview... what's wrong with the clothes I already have?_

Emily texted back pretty quickly…

**Emily:** _They just care, Finn._

**Finn:** _My mom's also making me get my hair cut…_

**Emily:** _Good. You need it_

**Finn:** _Not you too!_

**Emily:** _Sorry babe! I love you so this comes from the nicest possible place… YOU NEED A HAIRCUT!_

**Finn:** _Lol, fine. Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow after my interview_

**Emily:** _Good luck! I love you xoxox_

**Finn:** _Love you too. xox_

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The next day, Finn was sitting in the Ohio State admissions office, wearing the outfit Sarah had picked out for him. The waiting was painful. Finn spent most of the wait fiddling with his sleeves. Finally, an admissions representative came into the waiting room.

"Finn Hudson?"

Finn stood up.

"That's me."

"Hi Finn, I'm your admissions counselor, Patrick Williams. Let's go talk in my office."

Finn followed the counselor to his office. This guy looked like he was barely out of college himself. Had he not been an admissions counselor, Finn wouldn't have been as scared, but knowing he was didn't make the fears go away.

"Sit down, Finn. Want something to drink? I've got Sprite, Pepsi and grape soda."

"Sprite, please."

The counselor got a Sprite out of his refrigerator and handed it to Finn. Then he sat down and took out his notebook.

"So, tell me about yourself, Finn."

"Well, I grew up in San Francisco for the first 13 years of my life. Then, my parents sent me to Boarding School in Dubai for high school. The academic opportunities and the go karting standards there were a lot better than in San Fran. Car racing is my main passion, and I was competing at a pretty high standard until January of Sophomore year. I got into a bad crash in the middle of the race and injured my spine so that was pretty much over. Then, close to the end of sophomore year, my mom found out that my dad was having an affair so they divorced. Without my dad's bank account, my mom was forced to pull me from schooling in Dubai. Then, if I'm being totally honest, I became a bad person for the next year. A bad son. A bad brother. Just an all round bad guy. I could tell my mom was disappointed in the man I was becoming. I decided then and there that I'd do whatever I could to make her proud of me."

"I see. So how have you tried to make your mom proud of you?"

"Well, becoming a better son and brother seemed like the obvious answer. I became a more… involved person in all aspects of my life. Sure I made quite a few mistakes all along the way, but I didn't run away and deteriorate. I stayed."

The admissions man smiled.

"That's great. So I was reading your application and you said that you currently compete in semi-professional racing, and I can see there was a large gap between you racing in Sophomore year, and then in senior year. What exactly happened there?"

Finn smiled. Now he could talk about his real passion.

"Yeah, so what happened was that when I got injured in Sophomore year, it was actually supposedly a career-ending injury. I was told I could never race again. That was part of the reason I went off the rails right after. I always thought that racing would be the one way I'd be successful in the future. It was only this year that I realised that I could work hard and study as an alternative way of making a future for myself. But the reason I went back to racing this year was that there was one surgery - inserting cervical plates in my lower back - that would heal me and make me able to race again. My mom, a single mom with three kids, could nowhere near afford it as it was a really expensive surgery but over the Christmas break, one of my sisters got into contact with my dad and he paid for the surgery and physical rehabilitation in full."

"And what was rehab like?"

"Honestly, and I know I might be the only person ever to say this but it was one of the best months of my life. I spent every waking minute in the rehab center. I even slept there some nights. It was mainly over the Christmas break so I didn't have to worry about school."

"Let me guess… you met someone there?" Patrick smirked. Finn blushed, embarrassed, and nodded.

"Yeah, my girlfriend." He replied. Patrick nodded and looked at his clipboard.

"OK, any other extra-curriculars?"

Finn nodded.

"Yeah, in senior year, I joined my High School Glee club." Finn said. Him and Mr. Schue had agreed that the blackmail story stayed between the two of them and the working story was that Finn volunteered to join. "I wasn't even planning on it, but my Spanish teacher convinced me to. I don't regret it at all. It's so much fun and I'm really close with everyone in the club. I'm the male lead singer. When I'm there, I can forget everything and really just express myself. I'm also the leader of the club."

"That sounds really fun. Now, what about your life outside of school? What are your friends like? What kind of relationship do you have with your family?"

"Well, like I said earlier, I'm really close with my mom and I do have quite a few friends but, as sad as this might sound, my best friends in the world are my two sisters. Their names are Sarah and Neve and they're 13 and 8 respectively. They're just amazing and I love them to death. They were the main reasons why I decided to clean up my act last year. Neve and I are particularly close as because she was only 8, she never really got to have a relationship with our dad so she looks to me quite a lot. And you asked about my friends? Well, my two best friends outside my family both came into my life through racing. In my racing team, we have three drivers - me and two others. They both had moved to Lima in February, and they both enrolled in the same high school as me in February. They're also in the Glee club with me so that's a bonus. I can talk to all of those people I talked about about anything. I never have to worry about what they are going to say or do because I know they'll be there for me. If it's three in the morning, they'll still be willing to answer my call. Oh, and I'm really close with my girlfriend, too. She's the girl who I met in rehab. We've had our ups and downs and I know we're young, but she's the one, I just know it. She accepts me, she understands me and she loves me for who I am. She makes me a better person."

"We have your transcripts here. Keeping with what you told me, you had pretty good grades in your freshman and sophomore years. You sort of dropped in your junior year. You got pretty low grades that year, but you've improved drastically since. You made the honor roll last semester, I see. And your SAT scores were pretty impressive."

"Again, I owe that to my girlfriend. She's helped me become motivated to be a better student. We spent hours preparing for my SAT."

"Right. And one more thing. I see here that you tended to score extremely high grades in language and creative arts related subjects, but lower in sciences and maths. However, it says here that you want to study psychology. Why's that?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag or anything but I've been told that I'm a relatively approachable person. I'm pretty sociable and I'm happy to listen to people's problems and help them. I put the best interests of others before my own no matter what so I feel that psychology might be the career path for me, provided racing doesn't work out."

"OK, I think I've got all I need. Thank you, Finn. I'll make a recommendation to the scholarship committee and so will the FIA (International Federation of Automobiles). You should hear back within two to four weeks. I've gotta say, in all my years, I've seen someone gunning for a scholarship for racing."

"Okay, thank you."


	43. Chapter 43

"Okay, guys, we need to start getting ready for Nationals," Mr. Schue said. "We have never made it this far before, but this year, we're going to win. I know it would mean so much to our seniors. Nationals are in about a month, which means, it's crunch time. This weekend I'm going to be booking airline tickets and hotel rooms in Manhattan. Soon we're going to start thinking about songs. Your assignment for this week is to sing a song about how you think your life is going right now, a song that sums up your world."

Emily looked over at Finn. What was the summary of her life right now? Yesterday she'd committed to Princeton. She was definitely going to be away from her boyfriend and her friends next year. That was overwhelming and depressing. Yes, she liked the school she'd picked, but she would miss Finn so much, she didn't even want to think about it.

At the end of Glee practice, Finn and Emily were leaving. Emily knew she had to tell Finn the news. She just didn't know how he'd react. Finn turned to her.

"Want to come to my house and hang out?" Finn asked.

"Of course," Emily replied as they climbed into Finn's car. This would be a good opportunity to tell him.

"So, Finn, I have something to tell you," Emily said as they began driving.

"Really? What?" Finn asked.

"Well - this morning I officially joined Princeton's Class of 2021."

Finn looked at Emily and smiled, widely.

"Congrats, babe! I bet it feels good to get that out of the way."

Emily sighed in relief.

"It does. I may not know what's going to happen, but at least I know where I'll be at this time next year. What about you? Heard back from OSU yet?"

Finn shook his head.

"They said it'll probably be two to four weeks. It's only been about a week, but I'd rather just hear back now. At least if I didn't get the scholarship, I'll have time to look for an alternative."

Emily leaned over and squeezed Finn's hand.

"I'm sure you got in."

Finn shook his head again.

"I doubt it."

"Finn, listen to me! You've got to believe in yourself. And even if Ohio State in your future, there are other colleges. And there's the Mercedes tryout. You could win that. It is just 2 drivers and you."

Finn laughed.

"That's just a pipe dream. I was doing some research on the other two drivers. One of them was the All Asian F3 Championship winner from last year and the other's the European F3 Championship winner from last year."

Emily shrugged.

"Ignore them. It's you I care about. In F1 Qualifying sessions, the gap between first, second and third is often tenths of a second. It could easily be any of you… And Finn Hudson, my money's on you."

Finn smiled faintly.

"Thanks, babe. Love you."

"Love you too."

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That night, Sue was watching Sportscenter. Her Cheerios had just won Nationals for the 9th consecutive year and there was going to be a segment about them on ESPN. She popped open a can of beer and relaxed on the sofa of her lair (I mean, apartment!). She watched as Chris Berman, the anchor of ESPN, spoke briefly about something to do with Auto Racing…

"For the first time ever, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 have released a statement declaring that their Valtteri Bottas will not be an existing driver from F1. They have instead decided to host a try out between three of the brightest young stars in the industry. Adam Johnson, Mark Rogers and Finn Hudson…"

Photos of Finn, Adam and Mark were displayed on screen. Sue choked and spat out her beer. That was Finn from the Glee club! She leaned in as she continued watching.

"The three drivers will battle it out on the weekend of May 25th with the fastest driver earning a coveted spot on the Mercedes F1 team for the upcoming season. In other news…"

Sue Sylvester sat back and smirked. She had a wicked plan in mind…

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On Monday, the Glee club gathered in the choir room for rehearsal. Mr. Schue said he had some news about Nationals. He said it was relatively important but they had no idea what it was. When he walked into the choir room that morning, everyone was on the edge of their seat.

"Hey guys." Mr. Schue said.

"What's the news?!" Rachel suddenly exclaimed. Mr. Schue's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Huh?" He asked.

"That message you sent us. You said you had news about Nationals." Rachel said. "What is it? I'm dying over here!"

Mr. Schue nodded.

"Oh, yeah. About that. So I just got a message from the National Show Choir board. They said that the date of Nationals is being pushed forward by a week. It's now been scheduled for May 25th. It's not much, but 1 week of preparation has been axed."

Finn's eyes widened and his heart dropped. He knew that date very well. It was the date of the most important day of his life. His hands started shaking and he shakily stood up.

"Um… Mr. Schue?" He said. Mr. Schue nodded.

"Yeah, what's up Finn?" He asked.

"I… um… I don't think I'll be able to make it to Nationals." Finn stammered. Mr. Schue laughed.

"Yeah, you will. Very funny." Mr. Schue chuckled. Finn shook his head.

"No, I won't." He replied. Mr. Schue's smile slowly faded and confusion took over.

"Wait… are you serious? Why? What could possibly be more important as this?"

"I've got my try out with Mercedes F1 that day." Finn murmured. Mr. Schue's jaw dropped.

"Is this a joke?" Mr. Schue asked, dangerously quietly. Finn sighed and shook his head.

"I wish. I've got the trial that day. If it was anything else, I would drop it and leave but I can't pass up this opportunity. I just can't…"

"You have to!" Rachel shouted. "You can't miss Nationals!"

"I'm sorry, Rachel. I can't." Finn replied. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me."

"I don't care! Nationals is the opportunity of a lifetime for me. I don't give a fuck about your plans. You're coming to New York."

Finn glared at her.

"Not a great sales pitch." Finn remarked, before turning back to face Mr. Schue, who was still in shock. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Schue."

With that, he walked out of the room, leaving everyone in shock and horror.

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After Finn had left the room, the Glee club started spiralling and panicking.

"What are you going to do?!" Kurt exclaimed.

"It's not like we can make him not go to the tryout, can we?" Tina asked.

"Sure we can! Him going to the F1 trial is so selfish! He's putting his needs in front of all of ours!" Mercedes exclaimed.

"Yeah! I say we band together and demand he comes to New York!" Rachel snapped. Suddenly, a chair flipped over as Tory jumped to her feet.

"OH MY GOD! And you guys are calling Finn selfish?! You guys are the most narrow-minded, greedy, self-centered people I've ever met!" She shouted. Everyone looked at her, astonished.

"Um… excuse me?!" Rachel yelled, offended.

"How dare you call Finn selfish? Unlike you guys, Finn has no idea what he's doing next year!" Tory spat.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Mercedes asked, dumbfounded.

"She means that while all of you have colleges and future plans, this could be one of Finn's ways out. No, correction… this is Finn's one way out! And there's no way you assholes are taking it away from him!" Emily shouted.

"How dare you? Who do you think you are? You have no idea how long we've been working towards this! Three years!" Kurt spat.

"You know how long Finn's been working towards that trial? 13 years! Ten more years than you and your stupid Glee club!" Josh added, standing next to Tory and Emily in support of his friend. On the other side of the room were Kurt, Mercedes and Rachel. Mr. Schue stood in the middle, struggling to maintain order.

"GUYS, ENOUGH!" He bellowed. The two parties reluctantly sat back down. "Mercedes, Rachel, Kurt, I'm sorry but of course Finn is going to his trial! If he, ON HIS OWN, decides to choose Nationals then it's okay but there's no way you guys are forcing him to choose one, or even guilting him for picking the trial. We wouldn't be this far in the competition without him so you have no right making him feel bad. The decision is his… Nationals or his trial. Racing or Singing…"

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That afternoon, Finn sat on the bleachers, thinking hard about his decision. On one hand, the F1 opportunity was possibly the best and only opportunity he would ever get. But on the other hand, if he went to the trial, he would be disappointing some of his closest friends, who were all depending on him. Suddenly, someone sat next to him and he turned around to see Emily, who smiled sympathetically at him. He smiled faintly back.

"Hey babe." She said.

"Hey." He replied, quietly.

"Finn, I'm so sorry." She cried. Whenever Finn was hurting, she hurt too, and the other way around. That was the only downside of being in love. When one of them was feeling sad, the other one was too. When one of them felt angry, the other would too. But on the other hand, when one of them felt happy, the other would feel it as much.

Finn shrugged.

"Why are you apologising? It's not your fault."

"I know, but I just feel so bad. I know how much you wanted to compete in Nationals."

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Who said I wasn't competing in Nationals?" He asked. Emily's eyes widened.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. "I just assumed…"

"Is that what you would do?" Finn asked. "Ditch Nationals and go to the tryout."

Emily sighed and nodded.

"I'm going to be honest, and this comes from a place of love… yeah. I would, 100%, without a shadow of a doubt. You've been working for most of your life, waiting for an opportunity like this. It would be stupid to give it up for a dumb high school singing contest."

Finn nodded.

"I know, but I would be disappointing so many people if I go to the try out. People I care about."

"Finn, nobody would judge you if you pick the racing try out. Well, maybe Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes would. But screw them."

"What about Mr. Schue?" Finn asked. "He's been busting his ass for three years trying to make it this far. I'd be disappointing him if I just leave."

Emily shrugged.

"True, but if you stay for Nationals, you would be disappointing ME." She responded. Finn looked into her fierce, hazel eyes and sighed.

"Em, that's not fair."

"Finn, you've been working too hard to squander this opportunity. At the end of the day, it's your decision but you know my vote."

Finn nodded and smiled faintly.

"OK, I'll do the tryout." He finally decided. "But I still can't believe they changed the date of Nationals. Why would they do that?"

Emily shrugged.

"I don't know. All I know is that one of the schools randomly called in and asked for a date change."

Realisation hit Finn like a jolt of lightning. Everything suddenly came together like a nightmarish jigsaw. He knew one person that definitely watched his segment last night. Someone who hated the Glee club with a passion.

"Finn, are you okay?" Emily asked, noticing his reactions. Finn didn't answer. He merely pulled out his phone, went to the National Show Choir Championship website and dialled their 'Contact Us' number. The phone was answered immediately.

"Good afternoon. This is the National Show Choir Championship. How may I assist you today?"

Finn forced himself to stay calm and polite.

"Hello. Um… I was just calling as I believe that someone from my school - McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio - might have called earlier to reschedule the date of Nationals. I was just wondering if there was any way you would be able to change the date back to the original date."

"I'm very sorry, sir. The dates are finalised now. There are TV crews coming to broadcast or record the show so we needed to give them notice."

Finn said. Well, it was worth a shot.

"OK. That's okay. I just wanted to double check one more thing. What was the name of the teacher who asked you to rearrange the time in the first place?"

"Sue. Sue Sylvester."


	44. Chapter 44

Finn growled as he stormed back into the school. He couldn't believe Sue could be so petty! He knew how much Sue hated the Glee club but that was too far. It was crossing a line. It was his livelihood he was messing with. As he was walking, he realised something and his mood lightened considerably.

When he made it back to the building, Glee rehearsal was already over so Finn went straight to Mr. Schue's office. He walked into Mr. Schue's office, and Mr. Schue smiled sadly at him.

"Hey, buddy. Have you decided?"

Finn sighed.

"Yeah, and I think you know which one I've chosen."

Mr. Schue looked down and nodded.

"I think I do, and please know Finn that you're always welcome here. You are more than welcome to keep rehearsing with us. You obviously won't be with us when we're practising our Nationals numbers but for the other rehearsals, you're more than welcome to participate."

Finn smiled.

"Wait up one second, Mr. Schue." Finn said. "There might still be a way I can do the trial and still make it back for Nationals."

Mr. Schue's head shot up.

"Really? There is?"

Finn shrugged and made a half-half gesture.

"Well, kinda. I definitely won't be able to make the first round because that's the first day and it's the day you guys arrive in New York. But if we make the final showcase, there's a day's break in between the two so I'll still be able to make it there for that round."

Mr. Schue's face lit up.

"That's true! Yes! And let's be honest, the showcase is the round that really matters."

Finn nodded.

"Of course, there's loads of factors that can stop me making it in time. I'd be flying from L.A to New York and there could be a delay to my flight. Or bad weather somewhere along the way. Even with everything going to plan, I'd be arriving in New York with only 4 hours before the showcase."

Mr. Schue chuckled and put a hand on Finn's shoulder.

"Just take the win, Finn. There's still a chance you would perform with us! That's great news!"

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The good news didn't end there. When Finn got home that day, a letter was lying on the dining table. He recognised the Ohio State University seal on the front and he was instantly nervous. This letter could determine his backup plan for his future. He spent the next minute having a stare-off with the envelope before someone spoke up from behind him.

"You going to open that or what?" Neve asked from behind him. Finn spun around and clutched his chest in shock.

"Jesus, Neve! You scared the hell out of me!" He exclaimed. She rolled her eyes.

"Sorry. But seriously… please open the envelope! Waiting isn't going to change the result."

Finn looked down.

"What if it says no?" Finn murmured quietly. Neve took her hands in his.

"Even if it says no, which by the way I don't think it will, I'm sure you'll figure out something else. You're the most resourceful person I know."

Finn smiled at his sister. She was growing up so fast into such an amazing person. With her incredible maturity, it was hard to believe that she was only 9. Trembling like a leaf, Finn slowly opened the envelope. He read the first sentence of the letter…

_Dear Mr. Hudson,_

_We are pleased to offer you a place in the Ohio State University class of 2021 and a full scholarship, provided you race under the Ohio State name…_

Finn grinned wildly.

"I got in!"

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The first thing Finn did after reading the letter was speeding over to Emily's house and celebrating with her for the next few hours. She was so proud of him. He had overcome enough obstacles that it would be enough for 10 people, not just 1. The fact that Finn hadn't just collapsed and given up at this point was incredible and his resilience was insane.

A couple of weeks ago, Emily and Finn had taken their relationship physically all the way so a lot of their celebrations that afternoon were spent doing that, given that Emily's parents were out of town. However, eventually, he had to go home.

Finn and Emily both dozed on Emily's bed before Finn's watch went off, signalling that it was 7 pm. Finn and Emily both groaned and as Finn tried to climb out of bed, Emily pulled him back in. Finn chuckled and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Babe, I've gotta go!" He laughed. Emily shook her head.

"No!" She pouted. "Stay with me, tonight. My parents are out of town and you know how much I hate being home alone!"

Finn knew that. Emily's greatest fear was being kidnapped by a creep and being assaulted so she hated being alone, especially at night. Finn kissed her and played mindlessly with her hair.

"OK. Let me just call my mom real quick and ask her if I can." He said, grabbing his phone from the nightstand and dialling his mom's number. Unfortunately, there was no answer. He sighed and put the phone in his pocket before walking back into the bedroom. He shook his head slightly and Emily frowned.

"Sorry, babe. My mom's not answering. I'll have to go home to ask her. Is the offer still open if she says yes?"

Emily beamed and winked at him, pulling the covers back to reveal her very naked chest.

"Always." She replied, licking her lips. Finn smiled. He loved that girl so much!

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Finn drove back home and he saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway. He parked and opened the car door before walking into the house.

"Mom? Anyone home?" Finn asked and looked around. His jaw dropped. In the dining room, with his mom was a lady called Mrs. Denise Williams. She was Carole's best friend from San Francisco and they all still met up at least once a year. The only problem was that her daughter was one of Finn's ex-girlfriends. Although he rarely ever mentioned her, Finn had actually dated Ashley Williams for almost 3 years. They had grown up together in San Fran. Their story was little boy holding little girl's hand. They eventually started dating when they were 13 and kept a long distance relationship when Finn moved to Dubai. They broke up at the end of Sophomore year when Finn moved back to the States as he found out that she had cheated on him. Not that he was surprised. After all, they were only 16. It still hurt all the same though.

"Mrs. Williams?" He said, surprised. She smiled at him and hugged him.

"Finn Hudson! Look how handsome you are now!" She exclaimed.

"Thanks. What...what are you doing here?" Finn asked.

"We came by because it is your mother's birthday tomorrow and I would hate to break a 20 years tradition!" She smiled. Denise and Carole had the tradition of spending Carole's birthday together every year ever since before Finn was born. However, that wasn't the part of the sentence Finn focused on.

"I'm sorry… we?" Finn asked, nervously. He knew exactly what she was going to say but he was worried.

"Ashley's here too." She remarked. At that moment, Ashley stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to him. She smirked at him and his heart pounded. This wasn't good! His ex was in town; Emily was not going to be happy!

"Hi Finn…"

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After a brief catching up, Finn walked into his room and took off his jacket. He sat on his bed and read a text from Emily. Meanwhile, Ashley was walking around his room, taking in the surroundings. She walked over to his desk and picked up a photo of Emily that he kept on his desk.

"Who's the brunette?" Ashley asked. Finn looked up and saw what she was holding. He smirked.

"My girlfriend, Emily Cahill." Finn said.

"That didn't take a while for you to move on from me." Abby remarked. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Um… it's been a year and a half. And besides, you cheated on me. It wasn't hard to forget about you. And guess what… there were two other girls before Emily." Finn spat. Ashley took a deep breath and looked at him.

"I made a mistake Finn." Ashley said.

"Yeah you did. Your mistake was coming here to Ohio." Finn commented.

"I still love you Finn, and I know you have feelings for me. You were my first boyfriend. Hell, you were my first friend, period. There's no way we're going to lose all that." Ashley said. Finn shook his head.

"I'm in love with someone else. Her name's Emily." Finn said and walked out of his room and into the bathroom.

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Meanwhile, Emily hadn't gotten a text from Finn whether he was spending the night with her or not and she was slightly worried. What if something happened to him on the drive home? She tried calling him but he didn't reply. Although the chances that he was in a car accident were extremely slim, they kept her up at night. She rolled out of bed, grabbed her keys and walked out of her house. Emily drove over to Finn's house and saw the doors unlocked so she decided to go in. She walked up to Finn's room and she saw a girl in his bed, laying down.

"What the hell?" Emily said. Ashley sat up and looked at her.

"You must be Emily." She smirked.

"Who the hell are you and why are you in my boyfriends bed?" Emily asked. Just then, Finn opened the door from the bathroom and saw Quinn standing in the doorway.

"Babe?" Finn said. For some reason, both girls responded.

"Yes?" Emily and Ashley both replied. Emily turned to face Ashley and stared daggers at her.

"I'm sure he was talking to me." Emily said.

"How do you know?" Ashley asked. Finn rolled his eyes and took Emily's hand and led her out the room and into the hall.

"I can explain." He said.

"You better." Emily snapped, upset.

"She and her mom are here for my mom's birthday. Ashley's mom is my mom's best friend so they have this annual tradition where they spend her birthday week together just having fun and catching up. They decided to drop by. I didn't know Abby was going to be here." Finn said.

"Finn, she's staying in your house!" Emily cried, upset.

"So what? I feel nothing for her, Emily. I love you." Finn said, holding her face. "Oh… um… look. I don't mean to upset you in any way with this and remember that I had no idea she's coming but there's one more thing I feel like you should know."

"What?" Emily snapped.

"Ashley and I… we used to date. We dated for three years."

Emily's eyes widened but before she could respond, the door to Finn's bedroom opened and Ashley walked into the hall.

"Finn, you and I can totally share this bed tonight." Abby said. Emily raised her eyebrow and gave Finn a death stare. Finn turned to Emily.

"I'm sleeping downstairs on the couch." He explained.

"How about you sleep outside on the hammock so that thing doesn't touch you?!" Emily yelled.

"Calm down." Finn said, holding her close to him.

"Oh sweet lips! I hope you don't mind but I'm gonna sleep in your shirt tonight" Ashley said. Finn rolled his eyes and shook his head. Emily turned around and charged at her. Finn held her back. He somehow managed to prevent Emily from attacking Ashley and he managed to convince his mom to let him stay at Emily's house for the night. As him and Emily drove back to her house for the night, Finn sighed. It was going to be a long week…


	45. Chapter 45

"So Finn's ex is staying at his house?" Santana asked. Emily was complaining to Santana the next day about Finn's unwanted house guest while they were waiting for Glee rehearsal to start.

"Yes!" Emily snapped.

"And sleeping in his bed?" Santana asked.

"Yes." Emily growled.

"And you're okay with it?" Santana laughed.

"NO! I wanted to shave her head or something." Emily admitted, pissed off. Santana shrugged.

"Finn loves you. He's not going to screw it up." She said.

"It is his first girlfriend though. They have history. They've known each other their whole lives." Emily said, unsure.

"He loves you. That means something." She replied. Emily took a deep breath and nodded. She knew that Finn would be faithful but she was still worried: she loved Finn so much and she couldn't even imagine life without him.

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Somehow, the week went by without anything bad happening. To be honest, Finn barely even saw Ashley. He spent all of his time in school, Glee, racing and he spent every night in Emily's house with her. The two of them were stronger than ever and Finn didn't take too much offense to Emily being slightly jealous. At least this time around, she didn't automatically assume that he was cheating, despite how often Ashley said he was. She trusted him with all her heart and he much appreciated the new-found trust she had in him. Soon, May swung around and the next big event was on the horizon… Prom.

The McKinley High Senior Prom was coming up, and everyone was buzzing. People were starting to campaign for Prom King and Queen, girls were talking about dresses, and guys were talking about which hotel room to book 😉. Finn and Emily were walking to the choir room, laughing at the various prom royalty candidate posters. Finn turned to her.

"You sure you don't want to run?" Finn asked her. He himself didn't care much about prom royalty, but he knew how much girls did. Emily shook her head.

"Nah. I just want to dance with the love of my life. And then have a little fun afterwards." She winked at him. Finn groaned in anticipation. They hadn't been intimate with each other in almost 2 weeks - they wanted prom night to be extra special.

"You, Emily Cahill, are going to be the death of me." He murmured and she laughed. They finally made it to the choir room, but Mr. Schue wasn't there yet. He was all the way across the school, in Principal Figgins' office.

"I have some bad news." Principal Figgins told Mr. Schue and Coach Sue.

"Will Schuester is leaving McKinley to start a hair gel company. Oh, William, I am devastated. Positively horny with grief. As a going-away present, here's a spray bottle of hairspray. You know, as a startup booster." Sue remarked, obnoxiously. Will rolled his eyes. Seriously? Again with the hair jokes.

"No, no." Figgins said. "Prom is in one week and my favourite band cancelled."

"What band?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Air Supply, William. So I'm inviting my next favourite group: the New Directions!" He exclaimed.

Nope! No way!" Sue exclaimed. Mr. Schue sighed.

"Um… I actually agree with Sue. I mean, normally we would jump at the chance to perform, but… I mean, we've got Nationals in three weeks, which means that we have a lot of rehearsals. And a lot of funds to raise just so that we can afford the trip."

"William, this glass is half-full of dreams for all of us." Figgins said. "I have decided to give all the money to the Glee Club that I was going to pay Air Supply! So that's $400 right there for you."

"I won't allow it. I'm the prom coordinator and I was not consulted." Sue butted in. "Each year, I honor the prom with a bowl of my family's secret punch recipe, made all the more meaningful to me because it's the punch bowl my grandmother drowned in. And each year, that punch bowl is spiked. Such lawlessness will only be encouraged when being screeched at by that Glee Club!"

"Sue, it is not a discussion!" Figgins shouted. "We are in the lurch!"

Sue sighed.

"Fine. Well, then let me take this opportunity to make a request. Here's a list of the worst songs ever performed by the Glee club." She said, whipping out a piece of paper from her pocket.

"You just carry that around?" Will asked, on the verge of laughter.

"Number one…" She said, ignoring Will. "Run Joey Run. You should literally apologize to America for that one. Number two, the ingenious mash up of Crazy in Love and Hair. Now I know you must have been pretty tired when you slapped that baby together."

"If you'll excuse me." Will interrupted and walked out the room.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Mercedes and Santana walked into the choir room together.

"I've been to Ann Taylor Loft, Filene's Basement and like 6 Forever 21s, and I cannot find a dress that fits." Mercedes said to her friend. "I'm gonna be forced to make my own dress for prom."

"Don't, you'll seem poor." Brittany commented, sassily.

"You can't make your own dress! Prom is like our Oscars. It's seriously like the most important night of our lives." She said.

"What about getting married?" Tina asked.

"Oh, you can get married as many times as you want. You only have one shot at your senior prom." Quinn said. Finn turned to Josh, who was sitting next to him.

"So, who are you taking?" He asked his friend.

"A Cheerio I started hanging out with. She's pretty cool. She's a junior. Her name's Kitty Wilde."

Suddenly, Rachel walked into the room.

"What are you guys talking about?" Rachel asked, grumpily. She had been in a bad mood all week.

"Prom dresses." Mercedes answered.

"Thank God I don't have to worry about that. I'm not going."

"Why not?" Kurt asked, confused.

"Because nobody's asked me." She replied. Before anyone could say anything else, Mr. Schue walked into the room. He walked straight to the board and wrote one word… Prom. He then turned back to the class.

"All right guys… Prom."

"Please tell me we're not doing songs about Proms." Finn pleaded. Everyone laughed.

"Nope. We are the prom." Mr. Schue answered. "Figgins has asked us to perform. Now I know this isn't ideal with Nationals coming up, but we really don't have a choice. And we could really use the money. But I know that prom is a special rite of passage. I'm gonna make sure that all of you guys get a chance to enjoy the dance too. So, we're gonna stagger the performances so that each and every one of you has plenty of time to dance with your dates."

Rachel suddenly stood up.

"Excuse me." She said, and then walked out of the room. Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow.

"What's up with her?" he asked.

"Rachel doesn't have a date for prom." Emily explained.

"So? I don't have a date." Puck said. "I'm just going to dance, and then all of your dates are gonna ignore you and come dance with me, so… your dates are really my dates."

"Have you ever thought that it's comments like that which is why you don't have a girlfriend?" Finn remarked. Everyone sniggered. Even Puck laughed.

"I'm gonna go talk to Rachel." Kurt said, leaving the room. Once he was gone, and the chatter in the room had started again, Finn turned to Emily.

"Yeesh, I feel kind of bad for her. I know what it feels like to miss out on big life experiences." He murmured. She kissed him.

"Don't feel bad. She brought this on herself. I mean, she would probably have a date at this point if she was a little nicer to others and not a total bitch all the time."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Rachel was sitting in the auditorium, hiding amongst the seats, feeling sorry for herself, when suddenly, a voice called out.

"It's good to see you again, Rachel." Jessie St. James said. Rachel spun around to face him.

"J-j-jessie… what are you doing here?" Rachel stammered.

"I mean, how was I supposed to know that I was actually supposed to show up to those classes at school? I was majoring in show choir. I just assumed it would be like at Carmel and the school would get some Asian kid to take math and English and Scientific for me."

Rachel looked down.

"That's awful." She murmured.

"I came back to see you, Rachel." He said. "What I did to you… that's my one great regret."

"Yeah, it was horrible. One day you were telling me that you loved me and then you were inexplicably throwing eggs and water balloons at me the next."

"I know. I know. I traded love for a fourth consecutive National Championship. It was a bum deal. For a first, maybe, but for a fourth, no way. I've come to make amends. So what are you doing for Prom…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

When Finn asked about a corsage, Emily had only asked for a single flower that she could put in her hair in any color. This had puzzled Finn so he asked Santana for advice. She had advised him to go with white gardenias with a white bow. White would go with any color.

The day of the prom arrived and Finn spent that Saturday scrubbing his old faithful blue truck inside and out. He really wanted to get a limo for Emily, but she wasn't interested in one. That old truck held a world full of their best memories together. No need to change things now.

Finn started getting himself cleaned up for their big night around four. He never got to go to prom last year - he was actually behind bars in a holding cell in Boston during that point. When Finn came down the steps in his tux, his family were speechless. He looked like a model, with his black tux with a white shirt, and a silver bow tie.

"Oh my…" Was all Carole could say as she looked at her son from the top of his perfect hair down to his shiny black shoes. "I am so proud of you. Emily's going to be blown away when she sees you."

"Wow Finn, you actually look halfway decent. Like you haven't just picked up whatever clothes are nearest to you from the floor." Sarah got up from the couch and walked over. "You may be elected prom king just on write-in votes alone."

"Emily and I aren't running." Finn said as he fixed his disobedient bow tie. "I just want to spend a fun night with my girlfriend." Finn said.

"Ask Emily's parents to take lots of pictures of the two of you together and we want duplicates," Carole smiled.

Finn nodded, grabbed the small box with the flower inside, and left the house.

Finn pulled up in front of Emily's house and parked his truck in her driveway. Holding the flower box in his hand, he rang the doorbell to be greeted by both Mr. and Mrs. Cahill.

"She'll be right down. Let me go and tell her that you're here," Mrs. Cahill said as she pointed at the couch for Finn to sit on.

"She's coming," She announced a few minutes later while Mr. Cahill adjusted his camera on the tripod.

Finn got up and walked over to the foot of the staircase and waited for Emily to appear.

When she did, she was a vision in silver. Her dress was a long strapless mermaid style dress that accented her curves perfectly. A slit in the side showed off her perfectly tanned left leg and her sparkly stiletto heels.

Slowly Finn regained his ability to speak and when he did he said, "You look so beautiful. You'll be the most gorgeous girl there. I didn't know what kind of flowers to get you, but I know that you like gardenias," Finn said, offering her the flower.

"Would you help me pin it in my hair?" Emily asked. "I want it at the back, behind my ear."

"Sure, I'll be glad to help you, but you know that I'm all butter fingers."

As Finn helped her secure the gardenia in her hair, he couldn't resist the urge to kiss her swan-like neck that her up-do revealed.

Finn escorted his date back down the stairs as she clung to his arm for balance. Her sparkling Cinderella shoes with the three inch stiletto heels made the stairs difficult.

"The two of you will be the most handsome couple there," Mrs. Cahill gushed as she met her daughter with a kiss on the cheek. After the usual barrage of pictures, Emily said that they had better be on their way if they were going to make it on time. Finn escorted Emily to his waiting truck, and after helping her in, he got into the driver's seat. Closing the driver's door behind him, Finn turned to Emily before starting the truck.

"I'm sorry that my old truck isn't going to turn into a coach with eight white horses that you deserve. It's just a pumpkin. It's a clean pumpkin, but still just a pumpkin."

"Your pickup truck is perfect. I don't need a limo or a coach with eight white horses. We started falling in love in this truck, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Emily leaned over and gave Finn a kiss as his arms wrapped around her. "Are you sure that you still want to go to the prom?" Finn whispered between kisses.

"All in good time, babe." Emily winked. Finn groaned in anticipation and reversed out of the driveway and drove to school.


	46. Chapter 46

When Finn and Emily entered the gym, all eyes seemed to be on them. Finn in his black tux and Emily in her silver gown seemed to be glowing. Their friends had secured a corner of the gym and had saved two seats for them.

"Do you two realize that the two of you are the hottest couple here?" Mercedes whispered to Emily when Finn left to get some punch.

"Aw! You're too nice." Emily smiled, blushing.

"I'm not exaggerating. You're the most breathtaking couple here, and I wouldn't be surprised if you and Finn are elected prom queen and king."

"We're not running," Emily assured Mercedes.

"Kurt wasn't running last year, but he won on write-in votes. And Finn's the star Quarterback - he's bound to get quite a few votes."

Finn came back shortly after, and he and Emily walked over to the dance floor and watched their friends sing on-stage. Finn would be singing two songs that evening - one at the middle and one close to the end of the prom - so he had plenty of time to dance with his gorgeous girlfriend. Eventually, Finn was tapped on the shoulder by Josh, telling him to come to the stage to perform. For Finn's first song, he was performing with Josh and they were performing an upbeat, fast song. They decided on the ever-popular One Direction hit - Kiss You.

**Finn:**

_Oh, I just wanna take you anywhere that you'd like_

_We could go out any day, any night_

_Baby I'll take you there, take you there_

_Baby I'll take you there, yeah_

**Josh:**

_Oh, tell me, tell me, tell me, how to turn your love on_

_You can get, get anything that you want_

_Baby just shout it out, shout it out_

_Baby just shout it out, yeah_

**Finn:**

_And if you,_

_You want me too_

_Let's make a move_

_Yeah, so tell me girl if every time we_

**Both:**

_To-o-uch_

_You get this kind of ru-u-ush_

_Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_If you don't wanna take it slow_

_And you just wanna take me home_

_Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

**Josh:**

_And let me kiss you_

**Finn:**

_Oh, baby, baby, don't you know you got what I need_

_Looking so good from your head to your feet_

_Come on come over here, over here_

_Come on come over here, yeah_

**Josh:**

_Oh, I just wanna show you off to all of my friends_

_Making them drool down their chinny-chin-chins_

_Baby, be mine tonight, mine tonight_

_Baby, be mine tonight, yeah_

**Finn:**

_And if you_

_You want me too_

_Let's make a move_

_Yeah, so tell me girl if every time we_

**Both:**

_To-o-uch_

_You get this kind of ru-u-ush_

_Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_If you don't wanna take it slow (c'mon)_

_And you just wanna take me home_

_Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

**Finn:**

_And let me kiss you_

_And let me kiss you_

_And let me kiss you_

_And let me kiss you_

_And let me kiss you_

**Both:**

_C'mon_

_Na na na na na na na na_

_Na na na na na na na na_

_Na na na na na na na na_

**Finn:**

_Yeah, so tell me, girl, if every time we_

**Both:**

_To-o-uch_

_You get this kind of ru-u-ush_

_Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_If you don't wanna take it slow_

_And you just wanna take me home_

_Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Every time we to-o-uch_

_You get this kind of ru-u-ush_

_Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_If you don't wanna take it slow_

_And you just wanna take me home_

_Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

**Finn:**

_And let me kiss you_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=T4cdfRohhcg**

**Or search… 'Kiss You by One Direction'**

At the end of the song, they got a cheer from the dance floor. The boys stepped down and Finn made his way back to Emily. She kissed him.

"Babe, that was great!" She exclaimed. Finn smiled.

"Thanks. I still don't know how you got out of singing anything." He grumbled. Emily laughed and tugged him onto the dance floor.

"What can I say? I can be very persuasive." She said. The two of them slow-danced to the next few songs - Emily wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her waist. They were both completely at peace, their hearts beating softly against one another, ignoring the whole world around them. As far as they were concerned, they were the only ones in the world - they had each other, and that was all that mattered. Finally, Finn was called to sing for the second time, right before the crowning of Prom royalty. He approached the piano, and sat down. Rather than a fast song, he decided on a love ballad. He started gently tickling the piano keys, and then started singing. It was a slowed down, ballad version of Teenage Dream by Katy Perry.

_I think you're pretty_

_Without any makeup on_

_I think you're funny_

_When you tell the punchline wrong_

_I knew you got me_

_When you let your walls come down, down_

_Before you met me_

_I was alright, but things_

_Were kinda heavy_

_You brought me to life_

_Now every February_

_You'll be my Valentine, Valentine_

_Let's just talk all through the night_

_There's no need to rush_

_We can dance, until we die_

_You and I, will be young forever_

_You make me feel like I'm livin' a_

_Teenage dream_

_The way you turn me on_

_I can't sleep_

_Let's run away and don't ever look back_

_Don't ever look back_

_My heart stops_

_When you look at me_

_Just one touch_

_Now baby I believe_

_This is real_

_So take a chance and don't ever look back_

_Don't ever look back_

_When you're around me_

_Life's like a movie scene_

_I wasn't happy_

_Until you became my queen_

_I finally found you_

_My missing puzzle piece_

_I'm complete_

_Let's just talk all through the night_

_There's no need to rush_

_We can dance, until we die_

_You and I, will be young forever_

_You make me feel like I'm livin' a_

_Teenage dream_

_The way you turn me on_

_I can't sleep_

_Let's run away and don't ever look back_

_Don't ever look back_

_My heart stops_

_When you look at me_

_Just one touch_

_Now baby I believe_

_This is real_

_So take a chance and don't ever look back_

_Don't ever look back_

_I'ma get your heart racing_

_If that's what you need_

_In this teenage dream tonight_

_Let you rest your head on me_

_If that's what you need_

_In this teenage dream tonight, tonight, tonight_

_Tonight_

_You make me feel like I'm livin' a_

_Teenage dream_

_The way you turn me on_

_I can't sleep_

_Let's run away and don't ever look back_

_Don't ever look back_

_And my heart stops_

_When you look at me_

_Just one touch_

_Now baby I believe_

_This is real_

_So take a chance and don't ever look back_

_Don't ever_

_I'ma get your heart racing_

_If that's what you need_

_In this teenage dream tonight_

_Let you rest your head on me_

_If that's what you need_

_In this teenage dream tonight, tonight, tonight_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=yAUMU3QQE6w**

**Or search… 'Teenage Dream Boyce Avenue'**

Finn looked at Emily the entire time he was performing, and he watched how emotional she got by the end. When he stepped off stage, Emily flew into his arms and kissed him.

"I love you so much." She whispered.

"Love you too." Finn murmured as they sat down. Suddenly, Principal Figgins stood up and the spotlight shone on him.

"First I have an announcement to make…" Principal Figgins said. "There are reptiles living in McKinley toilets no more. The family of snakes have been safely removed to the zoo, where they can live out their lives in the toilets there."

Everyone cheered. The snakes in the bathrooms were a huge problem throughout senior year. In the few times Finn had gone in, he had found a number of Garter Snakes lurking in the shadows. Luckily, Garter - or Garden - Snakes were non-venomous and therefore harmless, so Finn just picked them and moved them when they came near, unfazed by the frightening reptiles. He loved animals, and he was especially fond of reptiles. Emily, on the other hand, was irrationally petrified of snakes. One morning in March, she literally called him at 5 in the morning, crying hysterically, asking if he could get rid of a snake that was in the garden.

"And now, this year's Prom court. Nominees for the Prom king are… David Karofskys, Noah Puckerman and Rick the stick Nelson."

Finn watched as the 3 guys walked on stage gleefully. Of the three guys, Puckerman was probably the least bad, but they were all pretty annoying people. Rick the Stick was the reason why Finn didn't join the hockey team in junior or senior year. Talent wise, Finn was definitely better than anyone on the McKinley team, but hockey guys were even bigger dick heads than the football team, and there was a huge rivalry between the two teams. The last thing Finn wanted was to be stuck in a turf war between the two teams. He had voted Puck for King but he thought that Karofsky would probably be the one getting crowned.

"Nominees for Queen." Goggins continued. "Are… Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez and Brittany S. Pierce."

The girls cared a lot more about prom royalty than the guys did. Quinn, Santana and Brittany strutted over to Principal Goggins on stage, and they waved at the adoring crowd. They weren't kidding when they said that prom was like their Oscars! The three girls, who were normally the best of friends, would be competing against each other tonight.

"This year's Prom King…" Figgins said. "Winning with the majority of the vote, our school Quarterback, Mr. Finn Hudson!"

Emily squealed in happiness for her boyfriend, but Finn groaned in annoyance. He had a bad feeling that this would happen; he really didn't want the extra attention. More attention meant more drama, and all Finn wanted was to finish senior year safe and happy, with Emily right next to him. Reluctantly, he stood up and Emily pushed him towards the stage. He stepped on stage and shook hands with Figgins, before having a pathetic plastic crown placed on his head. The crowd were roaring with cheers, and Finn could see Puck, Rick and Karofsky scowling at him from the side of the stage.

"And the winner for Prom Queen is…"

This was another issue that Finn had. Every dance since freshman year, Quinn had been crowned Prom Queen, and probably would be again. Finn really didn't want to have to slow dance with his ex-girlfriend - the girl who had caused him so much pain. He had voted for Santana, and wouldn't mind dancing with her at all, as they were close enough as friends that the close contact wouldn't be weird. And there wouldn't be rumours started by the rest of the school, as Santana was openly gay, and they knew how close friends Finn and Santana were. Finn wouldn't have even minded dancing with Brittany - she was really sweet and again, it wouldn't be weird as Brittany was openly gay. The three candidates waited nervously as the prom Queen was announced, their hands shaking, and Santana and Brittany's pinkies intertwined.

"Santana Lopez."

Finn let out a sigh of relief and he clapped along with the rest of the school as Santana sauntered over and accepted her tiara as Queen. Finn and Santana were quickly coronated, and they were led to the center of the room for their King-Queen dance. Emily and Brittany watched them, so much love in their eyes. Quinn, however, was angry. She stormed off stage and left the building, not to be seen again for the rest of the night. As Finn and Santana danced, they chatted.

"Congratulations. I know how much you wanted to be queen." Finn said as he twirled Santana. She smiled.

"Thanks. It's nice to finally beat Fabray at something, and be the Queen for just one night. Did you know she literally beats me at everything?!"

"That's not true." Finn laughed.

"It is!" She exclaimed. "She's the head Cheerio, I'm deputy. She's more popular. She's hotter. She's nicer." Santana said. Finn shook his head.

"I disagree. First of all, you're a much nicer person than she is, on the inside. Quinn puts on a kind personality to draw people in and manipulate them. That's not cool, if you ask me. You on the other hand, are much nicer than her, but you push people away with sarcasm and insults. Like remember when my mom died? You stayed with me for a whole month after! I bet you Quinn wouldn't do that for anyone."

Santana shrugged.

"Ok, fine. That doesn't take away the fact that she's hotter than me."

"Again, I disagree. As far as I'm concerned, you're the second most beautiful girl in this room, after Emily." Finn said as the two of them danced. Santana winked at him.

"You flirting with me, Hudson?" She joked.

"You wish, Lopez." Finn laughed. The song then ended and Emily and Brittany joined them.

"Hey guys, I hope you two aren't falling in love over here." Brittany joked and they all laughed.

"Britt, you have nothing to worry about. I'm waaaaaaay out of her league anyways." Finn replied, winking at her. Santana raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, is that right?" Santana laughed. "Anyways, Britt and I are going to go now. We'll see you guys on Monday?"

"Yeah, see you then." Finn and Emily said, hugging the two girls and watching them leave. There were only a few people left in the gym, scattered around the room. Emily then turned to her boyfriend.

"Hey babe. Do you want to go now? Our hotel room's waiting." She whispered seductively, nibbling on his ear. Finn practically jumped up.

"Don't have to tell me twice." He murmured, and they ran out of the gym together, and over to Finn's car. They quickly sped over to the hotel room Finn had booked and they didn't sleep a wink that night…


	47. Chapter 47

Now that Prom had ended, the road to Nationals had officially begun. They had exactly ten days until they headed to New York and their preparation was in full swing. They had to choose not one but two setlists: one for the first round and one for the showcase. It was pretty tough because with every suggestion, they had to debate which setlist to put it in. One tactic would be to go all out in the first round and put all of their stellar songs in that round; the other was to play it relatively safe in the first round, hope and pray that they make it into the top 10 and then come out swinging in the showcase. They decided to, in a way, combine the two tactics. They had Rachel soloing in the first round and Finn soloing in the showcase (provided he arrived in time); Rachel and Kurt dueting in the first round and Finn and Josh dueting in showcase; and then they were performing one all-girls number in the first round and one all-boys number in the showcase. Whole group numbers would be unaffected - they were performing one in the first round and one in the showcase. Overall, there were 8 songs to work on so the Glee club were in rehearsals for three hours a day every day. On top of that, Finn was also training for his massive racing tryout so he was under intense amounts of stress. While his main priority was obviously racing, the pressure that Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes were putting him under was insane, especially given that there was a chance he wouldn't even make it to the competition.

Finally, the day of May 23th came along and Finn prepared to leave for L.A for his tryout. He was extremely excited for the tryout - more so than he was nervous. He had packed his back a week before, containing all of his racing gear, as well as all of his normal clothing. It was going to be pretty weird travelling alone. He normally travelled with Josh, Tory and the rest of the tem but this time he didn't have any of them with him. He was going to be paired with Valtteri Bottas' former Race Engineer as the man in his ear while he was on the track and the three drivers would be driving 3 Mercedes F1 cars that the team had built in advance. They were spending all of the 24th getting used to the track and more importantly the car, and then on the 25th, they were attempting to put in the fastest lap they could. The way the trial would work was similar to how F1 qualifying sessions worked: the slowest of the three drivers would be cut in the first qualifying session; and then the top two would get 10 minutes to try and put in the fastest time they possibly could.

Right before Finn left for the airport that afternoon, he decided to swing by McKinley High. The New Directions were leaving for New York the next day so he wanted to say goodbye and wish them luck in Nationals. He probably wouldn't be on his phone until after the tryout to prevent distractions so he wouldn't speak to his friends until after their performance. He walked into the choir room, where the Glee club were having yet another rehearsal. They smiled at him when he walked into the room.

"Hey. Are you heading out now, Finn?" Mr. Schue asked. Finn nodded.

"Yeah. I just wanted to wish you guys good luck. I'm probably not going to speak to you guys until after your performance so best of luck to all of you. You guys are awesome and you deserve to make it to the showcase."

"Well, good luck to you too!" Mr. Schue exclaimed.

"Yeah, and don't forget to have fun too!" Tory added. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Don't ruin it because of nerves."

Finn nodded.

"Yes, ma'am." He responded.

"Oh, and you're totally going to win!" Josh remarked. "You're the best driver on the grid."

Finn chuckled.

"Josh, you and I both know that's not true." Finn replied. "On my best day, I'm the second best driver. I'm just praying that they make mistakes. After all, it's not like it's a racing situation. It's just a flying lap."

Josh shrugged.

"You got this." He replied, simply. Finn smiled.

"Thanks, man." Finn said before turning to walk out the door. He waved at the New Directions as he left the room and Emily followed him out to say goodbye. She hugged him tightly and kissed him fiercely.

"Babe, this weekend, you're going to take what's rightfully yours. Nobody deserves that spot more than you and you know that. You just have to show the team that too. I love you so much."

Finn smiled faintly and kissed his girlfriend.

"Thanks, babe. And right back at you: you guys deserve to win Nationals, or at least make it to the final showcase. I just hope I make it in time. It would take a miracle." Finn scoffed, disbelievingly. Emily raised an eyebrow.

"You don't believe in miracles?" She asked, surprised. Finn shook his head.

"No. You do?"

Emily nodded. Finn laughed.

"Seriously? You believe that God sends down random gifts from heaven?" He asked. Emily looked up at him and nodded.

"Damn right I do. You know… The day I met you, I already had feelings for you. That night, I went home and I looked at the sky and prayed to God for the first time ever. I prayed that I would eventually be with you and then when we broke up, I prayed that we would get back together. Look at us now."

Finn smiled and nodded.

"That's true. I don't know how I got someone like you. You're like way out of my life! I guess that was a miracle." He realised. Emily held him tighter. She never wanted to let go. Finn was the best thing to ever happen to her and she knew, at that moment, that he was the person she would be spending the rest of her life with, provided he was willing to take her. Finn eventually left and he got on the plane to L.A. Once he was finally in the air, Finn powered off his phone and put it in his bag. He needed to get into the zone and worrying about the New Directions and Nationals would only distract him. Instead, he took out his MP3 player and turned on his hype playlist. He needed all the energy he could get in the coming days…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The next day went by in a blur. He didn't even think about the New Directions at all. From the minute he landed in LAX and made it through the airport, he was whisked away in an SUV and he was taken to the Mercedes F1 Headquarters. For Finn, being in the headquarters was like Disneyland. Walking through the building and admiring the various cars from throughout the years was just awe-striking and it only got better from there. After Finn and the two other drivers got acquainted, they were also introduced to a couple of key people from the Mercedes team. They met with Lewis Hamilton (the other driver), Toto Wolff (the CEO of the company), the three race engineers who would be in their ears when they were on the track, and the race technicians who would be adjusting the cars, tyres, engines and other features to their liking.

After introductions, the three drivers were sent to the factory, where they sat in their cars for the first time. The cars had been built with default grip, acceleration, etc and they would be spending the next hour on the track adjusting every setting to their liking. In addition, the winner of the tryout's car would be their car for the upcoming season so it was good for them to be able to get used to it. They even had custom-made steering wheels and seats for all of them.

Once they were done with the customisation of the cars, they made it out to the track and began to practise for the race the next day. There were various things to practise - driving the car, getting used to the car, practising communication with their race engineer, etc. Driving a Mercedes F1 car was like nothing he had ever felt before. He was no stranger to driving F1 cars - around once a month, Finn, Josh and Tory got to drive F1 cars to get used to the differences between their cars and F1 cars - but most of the cars he had driven were old models of cars from less successful brands. Mercedes were in a league of their own. Although it wasn't the fastest car on the F1 grid in a straight line, it had by far the best braking, handling and acceleration. Finn felt like he was flying as he practised the track over and over again. He memorised every turn, every straight, every DRS zone, every braking zone like he had driven the track a thousand times. He had the whole afternoon to familiarise himself with the track and car so he made great progress by the end of the night. He was driving better and faster than he ever had before. The problem was that the other two drivers were just as good, if not better. To be fair, the drivers were salt of the earth great guys but that weekend, they were the enemy.

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Meanwhile, the New Directions had touched down in New York a couple of hours earlier. Their flight was right on time and they had landed in LaGuardia at 10 am that day. Emily had stared at Finn's empty seat almost the whole flight wondering what was going on all the way across the country in L.A. Finn hadn't been online in nearly twelve hours and she knew that he probably wouldn't be for the next day. All she could do was pray and send good vibes his way.

Once they made it to their hotel and checked in, they immediately ditched Mr. Schue and started exploring the city. Rachel smiled to herself as she strutted through Time Square. She had made it!


	48. Chapter 48

"3… 2… 1… You have 15 minutes left."

Finn's race engineer spoke in his ear the next afternoon, indicating that the qualifying session for the coveted Mercedes spot had officially begun. They had 15 minutes to steal the lowest time possible, giving them time to put in around 3 laps, including the time that they would spend in the pit lane adjusting the car and tyres during the session.

Finn didn't have to be told twice. As soon as the session started, he swung his car out of the pit lane and onto the track. Luckily, at that moment, neither of the other drivers followed. Because they had 15 whole minutes to put in a flying lap, they didn't need to be on the track at the same time, or at least on the same session of the track at the same time. However, in the second session, when there was only 10 minutes, Finn knew affairs were going to get ugly. He couldn't think about that yet though. He had to only think about the first session. As Finn approached the starting line at full speed, indicating the start of his lap, he turned on his team radio.

"Hey, man. Does everything look good with the car?" Finn asked the race engineer.

"Yeah, everything looks good. Just full send it, okay?"

"Copy that." Finn smirked before flooring the accelerator and starting his flying lap…

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"Three years ago, the New Directions were nothing but a group of 5 misfits, stumbling their way through a horrific rendition of Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat. Now here we are, at the top of the Show Choir heap: Nationals!" Kurt exclaimed. The New Directions were sitting on a couple of benches in Times Square, chatting and taking in the incredible city. Most of them had never ever left the State, let alone been to a city as diverse and unique as New York City.

"I want to hit up Central Park, get my frolic on." Tina remarked.

"I want to throw stuff off the Brooklyn Bridge!" Puck exclaimed.

"Guys, hold on. I mean, we still have 4 songs to rehearse." Josh pointed out. Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Okay, Mr. Bossy Pants." Mercedes snickered. "But I think we might have some time for a tune before we leave…"

_Start spreadin' the news, I'm leavin' today_

_I want to be a part of it_

_New York, New York_

Rachel, who was walking around Times Square, suddenly walked over to them.

"Guys, I have news." She announced. "To celebrate our impending win at Nationals, I got us all tickets to Broadway's longest-running show ever, Cats!"

Everyone cheered but Tory raised an eyebrow.

"Ummm… Rachel? You might want to check the dates on those tickets because Cats closed about eleven years ago."

Everyone snickered quietly as Rachel's cheeks instantly went red with embarrassment.

"He did seem crazy." She admitted. "Charged my credit card by swiping it through his butt-crack."

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"Okay, welcome to the Intercontinental New York Times Square. Your rooms are on the seventh floor." The hotel receptionist said, giving Mr. Schue the room keys to their hotel.

"Great. Thank you." Mr. Schue said, taking the keys.

"You planning on fitting all those kids in two rooms?" She asked, pointing to the group of 11 teenagers in the hotel lobby. Mr. Schue nodded.

"Yeah,well, it's all we can afford." He admitted. "I was just thinking about splitting them up, boys and girls."

"You guys in for the show choir competition?" She asked. Mr. Schue nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

"Most of the other teams split by sexual orientation." She remarked. Mr. Schue rolled his eyes and nodded. He picked up his key and walked back to the group and immediately noticed that someone was missing.

"Hey guys, where the hell is Puckerman?" He asked. Mercedes pointed towards the hotel bar, where Puck was talking to the bartender.

"I'll have a Manhattan." Puck told her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Do you even know what's _in_ a Manhattan?"

"Yeah, me, for the first time. Which is why I want to celebrate with a cocktail."

Mr. Schue rolled his eyes and walked over to the boy and dragged him back to the rest of the group.

"Guys, group meeting, in the room, now." He said.

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"YEEEEE HAWWWWWW!" Finn shouted as he roared past the finish line, completing his final lap of the day. The standings were up on the main leaderboard and as of that moment, Finn was in second place, meaning that he was going through to the next round. The eliminated driver, devastated, walked back to his hotel leaving just Finn and one other driver left in the tryout. Finn felt like he was being scorched by a blowtorch: the combination of his jet-black racing suit, the sun's glaring rays as well as nerves was making him sweat like a pig. As he wiped his brow, he watched as both Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff came into the paddock to speak to the drivers before the race.

"Hey drivers!" Toto exclaimed with a huge, cheerful smile on his face. For the CEO of a colossal company, he was an extremely kind, down-to-earth guy. It helped that he had just watched two drivers who were surely going to carry the torch in F1's next generation, and one of them would be driving for his team next season. "So, as you guys could probably guys, Lewis and I were watching your race from the stands. I want you guys to know that no matter which of you claim the seat on the Mercedes team, I have no doubt that both of you are going to have massive futures in the business."

"Yeah, and you know? I'm not going to race forever." Lewis Hamilton said. "Maybe one of you could take the other seat once I retire."

The two drivers smiled and nodded politely. They were much too worried about the upcoming session to pay attention to anything the men were saying and they knew it. Toto and Lewis shortly went back to the stands and the final showdown began…

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"Do you know that I can get ahi tartare and a steak sandwich at 3 in the morning from their all-night dining menu?" Kurt exclaimed, reading through the room service menu. "I feel like Eloise!"

"I have pills for that." Brittany said, dumbly.

"All right, guys. This is our time. Now, we are all on lockdown until after the show tomorrow night. As you guys know, we decided for our two solos and two duets to be either original songs or completely UNIQUE covers. We've spent a lot of time working on our group numbers and boys/girls numbers but we haven't done anything about the solo and duet. The onus shouldn't be on Rachel, Josh, Finn and Kurt to write their songs. Nationals are in 24 hours!"

"But Mr. Schue… it's their solo/duet! Why are we writing it for them?" Mercedes asked.

"And besides, Finn's not even here so are we meant to write his song completely for him?" Puck asked.

"No, you're not writing Finn's song for him. He already played me his solo idea before he left and I loved it."

"Ooh, what's he singing?" Rachel asked, curiously. Mr. Schue smiled and shook his head.

"I don't want to ruin the surprise." He replied. "All I can say is that it's the opposite of what someone would perform in a show choir competition. Well, the original song would be. His cover has more of a unique, club vibe to it and I think that will give us the edge. Nobody has attempted this before and I think Finn will nail it." He said, before remembering what Mercede said. "Oh, and Mercedes? Yes, you do have to help out with other people's songs. That's what it means to be part of a team. We've made it so far: we need everyone to play their part. Look, I've got to go. I'll hear your ideas as soon as I get back."

"Wait, aren't you gonna help us?" Tina asked. Mr. Schue blushed.

"I… um… will be back and read your amazing creations and give notes, but right now, I have to head to the theatre to… um… fill out some paperwork."

With that, he left the room, leaving the New Directions alone in their hotel room. He left the hotel and got into a cab. 10 minutes later, he arrived at his destination. He smiled a large sign that displayed the words **CROSSRHODES, AN APRIL RHODES STORY!**

"Ah… Broadway." He sighed.

**1 month prior…**

_Finn walked into Mr. Schue's apartment, unlocking the door with the spare key Mr. Schue had given him. Him and Mr. Schue lived less than 5 minutes away from each other by foot so Finn had just walked over that night._

" _Hey, Mr. Schue! You home?" He called. There was no answer. Finn still walked inside. "I used your spare key to drop off some food. My mom doesn't want you eating Slim Jims for breakfast anymore."_

_Still no answer. Finn sighed and walked into the kitchen of the apartment and he opened the fridge. Finn had gotten pretty familiar with Mr. Schue's apartment over the past couple of months as they often met there when Mr. Schue was helping Finn out with something. As Finn put the two tupperwares of food in the fridge, his eyes immediately trained on a letter that was stuck to the fridge door by magnets. Finn had never seen it before on Mr. Schue's fridge and he couldn't help but be nosy. He picked up the letter and read it. His eyes widened. It was a Job Offer from a Broadway show called Crossrhodes, and April Rhodes Story, whatever that was._

_Meanwhile, Mr. Schue had just entered his apartment to find the door unlocked. He tensed up slightly._

_"Hello? Anyone there?" He asked, nervously. Finn walked out from the kitchen into the living room and Mr. Schue instantly relaxed._

_"Oh, it's just you. Hey Finn." Mr. Schue said, before realising what was in his hands._

_"Um… Mr. Schue? What's this?" Finn asked. Mr. Schue stammered from an excuse before sighing and coming clean._

" _I got a job offer to be a leading role in an old friend of mine's Broadway play." He admitted. Finn smiled widely._

" _Mr. Schue, that's awesome!" He exclaimed. Mr. Schue shook his head._

" _I'm not going to do it." He replied. Finn raised an eyebrow._

_"You're… you're not?"_

_"No. The contract signing would mean missing almost all of Nationals week and then also, I would have to miss all of the next academic year. If I let Glee slip for one year, it's definitely not coming back."_

_Finn nodded in understanding. He then looked up at Mr. Schue._

_"Mr. Schue, do you know where I was 9 months ago?" He asked, rhetorically. "I had just been transferred to Lima and my head was messed up. I was having some bad thoughts, thinking about doing some bad things to myself. I wanted an out, and I was very close to taking the opportunity. But you know what stopped me? It wasn't the Glee club. It was YOU. YOU got me off that metaphorical ledge. YOU gave me a new passion. It wasn't the Glee club that changed me… it was you. Then when Quinn screwed me over and I was close to going off the rails again, you inspired me to make a change. To take control of my own destiny. And now I want the same thing for you."_

_"Finn… I…" Mr. Schue murmured._

" _Just hear me out, okay? The other day when I wanted some advice on a song for Glee and you told me to come to the auditorium, I came a few minutes early and I saw you singing on the stage. You're really good, Mr. Schue. Really, you have a gift, you know? And if someone's offering you the opportunity to use that gift on the big stage, you have to say yes. You've spent the past three years making everyone in the New Direction's dreams come true. It would be a real shame if yours got ignored in the process._

" _I mean, I can't really see the show lighting the town on fire." He remarked. Finns shrugged._

" _Well, but it's a chance, on a real Broadway stage. And who knows who's gonna come and see it, what great notices you might get. You deserve to at least try this, Mr. Schue!"_

_Mr. Schue thought for a moment before smiling and nodding._

_"You know what? I think I will try this!" He exclaimed. "You never know. This could be the start of a very, very late career for me."_

_Finn grinned and high fived him._

_"All right, Mr. Schue! And hey, given that I was the one who convinced you, I'm expecting a ticket to opening night!"_

_Mr. Schue laughed._

_"You got it." He replied. "You know, you've grown up so much since the beginning of the year. How did you get so smart?"_

_Finns shrugged._

_"I had a good teacher." He replied. Mr. Schue gave him a hug and Finn left the apartment moments later._


	49. Chapter 49

This is it, Hudson. Every event of your entire life has led up to this moment. You can win this. You just have to do what you do best… race your ass off!

Finn gave himself a pep talk as he stepped into his car for the final showdown. Him and the other racer were equally nervous, and Finn just hoped to God that the other racer didn't try to sabotage him. There were so many easy ways to sabotage someone in racing as even putting someone's time off by a hundredth of a second could make all the difference. This time, the other driver exited the pit first, speeding onto the track and beginning his first lap pretty quickly. Finn waited until halfway through the lap before entering the track himself, beginning a session that could potentially change his life…

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"Where the hell is Mr. Schue?" Santana snapped, pacing around the room. It was 12 pm and they were meant to be leaving for the Nationals auditorium ten minutes ago and he wasn't back yet. The group had managed to pretty quickly craft two unique covers for Rachel's solo and Rachel and Kurt's duet but they were scared because they had written it less than twenty four hours ago and when Mr. Schue heard it, he didn't seem as overjoyed as they normally did. He had returned from signing papers at the theatre at around 7 pm yesterday evening, and they spent the rest of the night polishing the songs to perfection. Just as they were about to leave for the auditorium without him, Mr. Schue came bursting into the hotel lobby, raising his hands in apology.

"Hey guys! I'm so sorry I'm late." He panted, trying to catch his breath. Rehearsal for his Broadway play had gone long so he had to sprint all the way from the subway station to the hotel.

"Mr. Schue? Where the hell were you?" Mercedes snapped. Mr. Schue shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. Now let's go! We have Nationals to win!"

They all cheered and headed out to the auditorium.

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Fuck. Shit. Damn it. Fuck.

There was 2 minutes left to the session and Finn's time was a mere 0.08 seconds slower than that of the other. He didn't know if he would even have enough time to put in another lap. It would be extremely close. As long as he crossed the starting line before the clock hit 0, he would be okay. Finn was around halfway across the track and he could almost hear the countdown in his head.

"30… 29… 28… 27… 26… 25…"

Finn urged his vehicle to push to its limits, possibly risking damage or injury to himself and the car but he didn't care. Suddenly, the 230mph vehicle just wasn't fast enough for him.

"20… 19… 18… 17… 16… 15…"

Finn was almost three quarters the way to the starting line. Whatever his time was for this lap, it wouldn't count because this was his out lap - a lap starting from the pitlane and not the track. He turned each and every corner like a maniac, desperately trying to claw his way to a final lap.

"10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5…"

"You're not going to make it, Finn." The race engineer warned him. Finn gritted his teeth and pushed the engine even further.

"I have to." He growled back. He could see the starting line now. It was tantalisingly close to him now, so close yet so far away.

"4…"

Come on, Hudson. You can do this. Just a few more metres.

"3…"

He wasn't going to make it.

"2…"

Finn could feel every eye on him. The other driver was back in the pit lane and was watching on nervously, and all of the technicians, Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff were also watching with bated breath.

"1…"

That was probably the longest second of Finn's life. He was milmeters from the line. It could definitely go either way at this point. He suddenly remembered the conversation he had with Emily a couple of days ago. It was ironic that he said he didn't believe in miracles and it turned to bite him in the ass less than 48 hours later. Swallowing his pride, Finn closed his eyes and prayed for a miracle. Luckily, God seemed to be smiling on him that day. Finn made it across the line with 0.07 seconds to spare. Finn still had a long way to go though. He might have managed to prolong his life for one more lap, but he still needed to keep up the pace and get a lap that was 0.08 seconds faster than his last one. It was a marathon and he had only completed a mere a couple of miles of it.

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"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! CALM DOWN! FIGHT! CALM DOWN!

Chants broke out between the New Directions as Josh and Puck started grappling and shoving at each other. The New Directions were in one of the practise rooms in the auditorium, rehearsing their numbers once again. There were 50 show choirs to perform and the New Directions were number 42 so they had loads of time to rehearse before their performance - around 3 hours to be exact. Pressure and tension was extremely high and when Josh saw Puck just playing on his phone rather than rehearsing, he snapped.

"HEY! COOL OFF!" Mr. Schue shouted, pulling Josh off Puck.

"He's playing on his phone while we're trying to rehearse! It's bogus!" Josh shouted.

"Cause I already know the dance! You dance like you have your feet caught in bear traps and you're trying to gnaw them off."

"Mr. Schue, are you aware that while we're arguing about rehearsing, the lead of one of the groups (Throat Explosion) is being handed the key to the city by Bloomberg himself?"

"Really?" Mr. Schue asked, confused.

"And plus, my blanket and my pillow fell into the pool. Disaster." Brittany added.

"Look, I think everybody is just a little tired. We've been rehearsing for three straight hours."

"Yeah, and we'll rehearse for the next three if we have to." Josh snapped. "We can rest after we've won!"

"Just because we've lost Finn, that doesn't give us an excuse to be anything less than perfect. PERFECT!" Rachel shouted.

"I miss Finn." Emily muttered. Because Finn wasn't there, Rachel had taken it upon herself to be the new, self-appointed leader of the New Directions. Needless to say, people weren't happy.

"HEY! EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Tory screamed. Everyone fell silent instantly. She sighed. "Look, I don't want to hear 'we can't do it without him,' because guess what? We don't have a damn choice! So be warned: if you are not giving this everything you've got, I will hunt all of you down and hurt you. I know where you live and you will all so live to regret it!"

"Listen to yourselves." Mr. Schue murmured. Tory sighed.

"I know. I always go to the yelling place. I have rage." She commented. Mr. Schue shook his head.

"No, it's a good thing. A great thing. There is so much passion in this room. Even all your arguing, it's about the work. You guys really want this. Okay, so let's take a half-hour break, then rehearse for an hour, then stop until we're called in to perform."

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1) Finn Hudson **1.38.07**

2) Mark Rogers **1.38.14**

3) Adam Johnson **1.39.01**

That was the first thing Finn saw as he stepped out of the car after his lap. He couldn't see the other driver, who had presumably left the pit lane. That's when it hit him… the leaderboard said that he was first! He had won! He had claimed the final seat on the Mercedes team by less than a tenth of a second. His time for his final lap was three tenths slower so had he not made it on his insane out lap, the result would have been extremely different. Finn was having a hard time processing everything: in less than 6 months, he would be racing under the Mercedes name! His future was finally no longer murky. Every crack-of-dawn early training session, every dawn-to-dusk tactics studying session, every moment from San Francisco, to Dubai to now all led up to something greater than Finn could have ever imagined. It was beyond his wildest dreams to be able to race for Mercedes. Back when he was a kid, he imagined racing for either a big F2 team or a smaller F1 team but Mercedes… that was never even in the picture.

The first thing he did after celebrating and signing the official contract with Toto Wolff was call his family and tell them the good news. He officially began work on July 1st, around a month after school ended, and he had two months to prepare for the next season, which started in September. There was so much to do - official photoshoots, practising with the car, getting to know the team, making adjustments to the car, the whole nine. But Finn had a month of summer to relax first. Now that he was about to become somewhat of a celebrity and public figure, he learnt that he needed to take life one step at a time and the next step… Nationals final showcase! That's where everything started to go wrong…

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Two hours later, Rachel walked on stage to open the show for the New Directions. The order of the performances was her solo, then the all girls number, then her and Kurt's duet, then the whole group number. They were relatively confident given the circumstances. Sure they would much rather have had Finn alongside them, but all of their rehearsals had given them enough confidence to perform. Rachel took a deep breath and opened the show…

_We could just go home right now_

_Or maybe we could stick around_

_For just one more drink, oh yeah_

_Get another bottle out_

_Let's shoot the shit, sit back down_

_For just one more drink, oh yeah_

_Here's to us_

_Here's to love_

_All the times that we fucked up_

_Here's to you_

_Fill the glass_

_'Cause the last few days have kicked my ass_

_So let's give 'em hell_

_Wish everybody well_

_Here's to us_

_Here's to us_

_Stuck it out this far together_

_Put our dreams through the shredder_

_Let's toast 'cause things got better_

_And everything could change like that_

_And all these years go by so fast_

_But nothing lasts forever_

_Here's to us_

_Here's to love_

_All the times that we messed up_

_Here's to you_

_Fill the glass_

_'Cause the last few nights have kicked my ass_

_If they give you hell_

_Tell 'em go fuck themselves_

_Here's to us_

_Here's to us_

_Here's to all that we kissed_

_And to all that we missed_

_To the biggest mistakes_

_That we just wouldn't trade_

_To us breaking up_

_Without us breaking down_

_To whatever's coming our way_

_Here's to us_

_Here's to love_

_All the times that we fucked up_

_Here's to you_

_Fill the glass_

_'Cause the last few days have kicked my ass_

_So let's give 'em hell_

_Wish everybody well_

_Here's to us_

_Here's to love_

_All the times that we messed up_

_Here's to you_

_Fill the glass_

_'Cause the last few nights have kicked my ass_

_If they give you hell_

_Tell 'em go fuck themselves_

_(Go fuck themselves)_

_Here's to us_

_(Here's to us)_

_Here's to us_

_(Here's to us)_

_Here's to us_

_Here's to love_

_Here's to us_

_(Wish everybody well)_

_Here's to us_

_Here's to love_

_Here's to us_

_Here's to us_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=lxHOT6dCx20**

**Or search… 'Here's to Us Glee'**

Right after Rachel finished singing, the girls of the New Directions prepared for their number: Edge of Glory. Originally, they had planned to have the boys do their all-boys number in that performance and then do the girls' one for the showcase. They wanted to do it that way because it would give them more balance between boys and girls numbers between the two shows but given that Finn wasn't there and he was practically the whole show for the guys, they were forced to switch it up. Without further ado, the girls began performing…

_There ain't no reason you and me should be alone_

_Tonight, yeah, baby! (Tonight, yeah, baby!)_

_And I got a reason that you're who should take me home tonight (Tonight)_

_I need a man that thinks it's right when it's so wrong_

_Tonight, yeah, baby! (Tonight, yeah, baby!)_

_Right on the limits where we know we both belong tonight_

_[Bridge:]_

_It's hard to feel the rush, to brush the dangerous_

_I'm gonna run right to, to the edge with you_

_Where we can both fall far in love_

_[Chorus:]_

_I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment of truth_

_Out on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you_

_I'm on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge,_

_I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you_

_I'm on the edge with you._

_Another shot before we kiss the other side_

_Tonight, yeah, baby! (Tonight, yeah, baby!)_

_I'm on the edge of something final we call life tonight_

_(Alright! Alright!)_

_Put on your shades, 'cause I'll be dancing in the flames_

_Tonight, yeah, baby! (Tonight, yeah, baby!)_

_It isn't hell if everybody knows my name tonight_

_(Alright! Alright!)_

_[Bridge:]_

_It's hard to feel the rush, to brush the dangerous_

_I'm gonna run right to, to the edge with you_

_Where we can both fall far in love_

_[Chorus:]_

_I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment of truth_

_Out on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you_

_I'm on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge,_

_I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you_

_I'm on the edge with you._

_I'm on the edge with you_

_I'm on the edge with you_

_(You, you, you...)_

_[Solo saxophone]_

_[Chorus:]_

_I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment of truth_

_I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you_

_I'm on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge,_

_I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you_

_I'm on the edge with you (with you, with you, with you, with you, with you)_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=Ony9VtizFPo**

**Or search… 'Edge of Glory Glee'**

The girls, led by Santana for that number, had done an incredible job for that number and they knew it. At this rate, the New Directions were on the right track to be cruising to the showcase but there were still two songs to go and they couldn't sit back on their laurels. Their next song was a Rachel-Kurt duet and of course, they were singing a Broadway song. They decided on their favourite song from Wicked - Defying Gravity.

_Something has changed within me_

_Something is not the same_

_I'm through with playing by the rules_

_Of someone else's game_

_Too late for second-guessing_

_Too late to go back to sleep_

_It's time to trust my instincts_

_Close my eyes... and leap!_

_It's time to try_

_Defying gravity_

_I think I'll try_

_Defying gravity_

_Kiss me goodbye_

_I am defying gravity_

_And you won't bring me down!_

_I'm through accepting limits_

_'cause someone says they're so_

_Some things I cannot change_

_But till I try, I'll never know!_

_Too long I've been afraid of_

_Losing love I guess I've lost_

_Well, if that's love_

_It comes at much too high a cost!_

_I'd sooner buy_

_Defying gravity_

_Kiss me goodbye_

_I'm defying gravity_

_I think I'll try_

_Defying gravity_

_And you won't bring me down!_

_I'd sooner buy_

_Defying gravity_

_Kiss me goodbye_

_I'm defying gravity_

_I think I'll try_

_Defying gravity_

_And you won't bring me down!_

_Bring me down!_

_Ohh ohhh ohhhh!_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=Yah7Py8SuKE**

**Or search… 'Defying Gravity Glee'**

At this point, the whole crowd was on their feet. The New Directions were extremely unique and were a real championship threat as they had so much range within the group: they had pop singers such as Emily, Tory and Santana; Rock singers like Puck and Artie; R'n'B singers like Mercedes and they had amazing dancers such as Brittany and Mike. When they were at full strength, nobody could stop them. They just proved that during their final group number…

_Can anybody find me?_

_Somebody to love_

_Each morning I get up_

_I die a little_

_Can barely stand on my feet_

_Take a look in the_

_Mirror and cry_

_Lord_

_What you're doing to me_

_I have spent all my years_

_In believing you_

_But I just can't get no_

_Relief, Lord!_

_Somebody, somebody_

_Can anybody find me?_

_Somebody to love_

_I work hard every day_

_Of my life_

_I work till I ache my bones_

_At the end I take home_

_My hard_

_Earned pay all on my own_

_I get down on my knees_

_And I start to pray_

_Till the tears run down_

_From my eyes_

_Lord, somebody, somebody_

_Can anybody find me?_

_Somebody to love?_

_(He works hard)_

_Everyday_

_I try and I try and I try_

_But everybody wants to_

_Put me down_

_They say I'm goin' crazy_

_They say I got a lot of_

_Water in my brain_

_Got no common sense_

_I got nobody left to believe_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Oh, Lord_

_Somebody, somebody_

_Can anybody find me?_

_Somebody to love?_

_Got no feel, I got no rhythm_

_I just keep losing my beat_

_I'm OK, I'm alright_

_I ain't gonna face no defeat_

_I just gotta get out of_

_This prison cell_

_Someday I'm gonna_

_Be free, Lord!_

_Need somebody to love_

_Find me somebody to love_

_Find me somebody to love_

_Find me somebody to love_

_Find me somebody to love_

_Find me somebody to love_

_Find me somebody to love_

_Find me somebody to love_

_Find me somebody to love_

_(Somebody)_

_Find me somebody to love_

_Find me somebody to love_

_Oh_

_Somebody, somebody_

_Somebody, somebody_

_Somebody, somebody_

_Somebody find me_

_Somebody to love_

_Somebody, somebody_

_Find me somebody to love_

_Can anybody find me?_

_Somebody to love_

_Somebody find me_

_Somebody find me_

_Somebody to love_

_Somebody, somebody_

_Somebody_

_Somebody to love_

_Somebody to love_

_Find me, somebody to_

_Love_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=YzFbgRcafSE**

**Or search… 'Somebody to Love Glee'**

One hour later, the New Directions were confirmed as one of the 10 show choirs returning the next day. They were relieved more than anything else. Now that they had Finn for the showcase, they stood a good chance of winning the whole game.

After they went back to the greenroom, Emily pulled out her phone and called Finn, before realising that he was probably already on the plane so wouldn't answer. To her surprise, he did.

"Hey babe! How did Nationals go?" He asked, cheerfully. Emily beamed.

"WE WON!" She exclaimed. "How did your tryout go?"

"Well, Emily Cahill, you are officially dating one of the two Mercedes F1 drivers for the 2020-21 season." Finn said, bursting with pride. Emily gasped in delight.

"Finn, that's incredible! I'm so proud of you!" Emily stated. Finn smiled.

"Thanks, babe. Right back at you guys about Nationals."

Emily then realised something.

"Wait… where are you? Shouldn't you be on the plane at this point?"

"I should be." He sighed. "Babe, I might not be able to make it in time. I'm going to have to hopscotch across the country on like four flights to make it in time."

Emily nodded.

"Well, you just stay safe and congratulations on your new gig. We all miss you and we hope you can make it."

"Ok, babe. Hate to cut you off but I've got to go. Love you." Finn said.

"Love you, bye."


	50. Chapter 50

That night, dinner was over by 8 and there was still no sign of Finn. They needed to be at the venue by around 3-4 pm the next day so they had to start thinking about a back-up plan in case he didn't make it. The members of New Directions gathered in the large conference room on the second floor.

"Have you heard from Finn?" Mr. Schuster questioned Emily anxiously.

"Not a word." She replied. "The last thing I heard was that he was getting on a plane to Colorado. I haven't heard him since."

"We have enough members to compete, but just barely. This is the final round so no matter whether he shows or not, we need to give it our all.."

"I think we should be prepared in case Finn doesn't get here in time. How about if we switch up our songs and rather than Finn and I singing, we have a different group sing?" Josh suggested.

"Why don't we just have another guy take Finn's spot. That way, we don't have to change much." Tina suggested. Josh shook his head.

"No, that won't work. Finn's the lead vocalist in both our duet and the all-boys number. Having someone else take his place would ruin the harmony."

"I agree with Josh." Mr. Schue said. "No offense boys, but none of you have the right kind of voice to take Finn's part. So why don't we switch it to an all-girls number?"

"OK, so what song should we do?" Mercedes asked, frantically. Everyone was starting to freak out.

Why don't we sing our girls' mashup of Rumor Has It/Someone Like You?" Santana suggested. "And then for the duet, we don't really have any other option than to have Puck fill in Finn. You guys just have to… make do.

Everyone agreed, and they started rehearsing. Suddenly, Josh's phone rang. He picked it up. It was Finn!

"Guys! Guys! It's Finn!" Josh shouted, and everyone quietened down immediately. "Hey Finn!" Josh said.

"Hey man. How's it going?" Finn asked.

"Pretty bad, not gonna lie. Everyone's kinda freaking out. Do you think you'll make it in time?"

"I don't know. I missed the last direct flight from Cincinnati to L.A, so I'm hot potatoing across the country. I just landed in Denver. I'm then getting on a plane to Kansas City, and then from there Chicago, and then I'm taking a flight to Manhattan. If none of the flights are cancelled or delayed, I should be in New York by tomorrow morning, in time for the afternoon's performance. But if there's any delays, I'm sorry."

"Well, good luck, dude. And by the way, you're girlfriend's beating me up right now, trying to grab the phone from me. Can you please call her?"

"Um… sure. Her phone was off when I tried before."

"Well try again. See you, Finn."

"Bye."

After getting off the phone with Josh, Finn had a quick conversation with Emily, before getting on the flight to Kansas City. The next few hours went by excruciatingly slowly, as he had to endure the various horrors of sleeping next to a screaming baby, snoring businessman, and a pregnant woman who took up half of Finn's seat as well and needed to go to the toilet every couple of minutes. However, eventually, Finn touched down in New York. He tried to call Josh and Emily, but both of their phones were turned off. He left the airport, and what he saw next was a disaster…

The roads were backed up for miles! Every car had turned off its engine, drivers wandering on the highway, looking up and down for an opening. Then came the sirens shooting up the service lane, police, fire and ambulance. A chopper flew low over head and began to land a mile further up, that's when folks settled back in their cars for a long wait. It was a combination of a car accident, as well as rush hour traffic, and the results weren't pretty. Traffic wound its way down the road like a great angry snake, tires hissing over the wet road. It was stop-start, cars were hopping down the road like hog-tied frogs toward yet another set of springtime roadworks. A procession of headlights on the highway, tail lights snaking their way down the road and over the brow of a hill, cars bumper to bumper, exhaust fumes belching out, blurred headlights through the driving rain, traffic at a stand still, traffic jam, traffic nose to tail right down the high street, the highway became a giant parking lot.

Finn thought to himself: what should he do? It was a 40 minute car journey if there was no traffic on the road, so it would take several hours to arrive with the current traffic. He wouldn't make it in time! Suddenly, something caught his eye. There was a line of rental bikes at the side of the car park. Finn took a deep breath and calculated. If he cycled for 3 straight hours, he would make it to the hotel with just enough time to get changed and get ready, before they had to leave for the performance hall. Finn sprinted over to the bike stand, quickly paid, and then sped out onto the streets.

Three hours later, panting and heaving for breath, Finn arrived at the hotel car park. He flew off the bike and ran into the hotel. The New Directions weren't in the hotel lobby or the conference room, so Finn took the lift up to the 6th floor. He had been texted the room information by Josh the day before, so Finn immediately found room 602 and pounded on the room. He could hear singing voices inside, and they immediately shut up as one person walked over to the door. Emily opened the door and her face lit up.

"BABE!" She screamed, flying into his arms. Finn kissed her and let out a sigh of relief. He had made it! He was led inside, and everyone erupted in happiness and relief. They were able to revert back to their original set list, and they stood a good chance of winning. A couple of hours later, the New Directions got into a subway train and travelled to the venue for the showdown. For the first time ever, there weren't any arguments between the members of the New Directions - the stakes were higher than ever, and they were all competing for a united purpose: to win it for Mr. Schue. As they sat in the subway carriage, nerves were palpable. Finn couldn't stop fidgeting. He probably got up and sat down at least a hundred times before the train finally stopped at their station. They walked into the building, and they were checked in pretty quickly. There were 10 teams performing so it was going to be a long day.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"All right. Gather around, everyone!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. They were finally in the Glee club, getting ready to perform. They had watched the previous 4 performances (they were 5th on the programme) and they had to admit, the performances were epic. The 10 remaining groups were the top ten of hundred of show choirs across the country so they were extremely high level. The New Directions didn't care though. Their nerves had started to dissipate and they just wanted to go out, have fun, and do their best. Mr. Schue cleared his throat and began his pep talk…

"I just want to say a few words before we go out there." Mr. Schue declared. He was cut off by Finn though.

"Hold on, Mr. Schue. Hold on. You've given us a lot of pep talks over the years but remember, you told us once that a teacher's job is only done when his students don't need him anymore?"

Mr. Schue smiled.

"Okay, Finn. The floor is yours." He stated. Finn smiled.

"Um… so while we were all on the subway this afternoon on our way to the venue, we sat around in a circle and we told stories. But then we went around the carriage and everybody said what they wanted to win this thing for, and we all said the same thing: we want to win this for you. And I know every year at school, Figgins gives away the teacher of the year award but I don't think any of us have to wait to see how we feel about that. You're, like our teacher of a lifetime."

"Yeah." Everyone agreed. Mr. Schue beamed at his students.

"Thank you, Finn. Thank you, all of you. I love you guys so much."

Suddenly, the lights in the greenroom started flickering and the P.A announced that they needed to report backstage.

"All right. That's it. Show time. Hands in, everyone." Mr. Schue said. "1… 2… 3… New Directions!"

"NEW DIRECTIONS!" They all chanted.

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Finn looked around at the audience as he stepped on stage for his solo. It was his first experience performing for an audience this large - there were around 2000 people tightly packed in the auditorium. There were friends and family of the members of the 10 various groups, as well as various people who lived in L.A and were keen to get a dirt-cheap but high-quality singing show. He didn't let the nerves get to her head though. He needed to keep it together, and it would give him practise for when he was in high-pressure F1 situations in the future with the whole world watching. He took a breath and started strumming his guitar. He absolutely loved his solo but he was worried that he might have chosen too iconic of a song. After all, most people didn't dare touch Adele's music in solos. But Finn wasn't most people.

_I've been walking in the same way as I did_

_Missing out the cracks in the pavement_

_And tutting my heel and strutting my feet_

_"Is there anything I can do for you dear? Is there anyone I could call?"_

_"No and thank you, please Madam. I ain't lost, just wandering"_

_Round my hometown_

_Memories are fresh_

_Round my hometown_

_Ooh the people I've met_

_Are the wonders of my world_

_Are the wonders of my world_

_Are the wonders of this world_

_Are the wonders now_

_I like it in the city when the air is so thick and opaque_

_I love it to see everybody in short skirts, shorts and shades_

_I like it in the city when two worlds collide_

_You get the people and the government_

_Everybody taking different sides_

_Shows that we ain't gonna stand shit_

_Shows that we are united_

_Shows that we ain't gonna take it_

_Shows that we ain't gonna stand shit_

_Shows that we are united_

_Round my hometown_

_Memories are fresh_

_Round my hometown_

_Ooh the people I've met_

_(Doo-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-dah, yeah_

_Doo-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-dah, yeah_

_Doo-doo-doo-doo ooh-ooh yeah_

_Yeah, yeah-ey)_

_Are the wonders of my world_

_Are the wonders of my world_

_Are the wonders of this world_

_Are the wonders of my world_

_Of my world_

_Yeah_

_Of my world_

_Of my world yeah_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=BGi_wrQ05Rk &ab_channel=TheXFactorUK**

**Or search… 'Hometown Glory James Arthur'**

Creating a dubstep remix to one of the most popular Adele songs was definitely a cheeky move and because the style of music was so unusual in the show choir world, he couldn't be anything less than perfect otherwise the New Directions would completely be written off. There was a fine line between creativity and just playing straight-up street music and Finn was walking the line perfectly. The New directions watched in awe backstage.

"Damn, that was badass." Puck remarked at the end of the song.

"Yeah, that was so… different. It was epic!" Mike remarked. Even Rachel had nothing bad to say about the performance. She could only just clap for him. After the solo, it was time for the all-boys number…


	51. Chapter 51

The boys quickly got into position for their all-boys number; it was a unique mashup of two of the most popular boy band numbers of all time. It involved such precise choreography from the whole group, another reason why they wouldn't have been able to perform without Finn.

**Finn:**

_Hey, Hey_

**New Directions Boys:**

_Bye, Bye, Bye_

_Bye, Bye_

_Bye, Bye_

_Oh, Oh_

**Josh, Puck and Artie**

_I'm doin' this tonight,_

_(You're) probably gonna start a fight._

_(I) know this can't be right._

_Hey baby come on_

_(I) loved you endlessly,_

_(When) you weren't there for me._

_(So) now it's time to leave and make it alone_

_I know that I can't take no more_

_It ain't no lie_

_I wanna see you out that door_

_Baby, bye, bye, bye_

**Finn, Mike, and Kurt**

_You are my (fire)_

_The one (desire)_

_Believe (when I say)_

_I want it that way_

**Josh and Puck:**

_Bye Bye_

**Josh, Puck and Artie:**

_Don't wanna be a fool for you_

_Just another player in your game for two_

**Josh:**

_You may hate me but it ain't no lie_

_Baby, bye, bye, bye..._

**Puck and Artie:**

_Bye Bye_

**Puck, Josh and Artie:**

_Don't really wanna make it tough,_

_I just wanna tell you that I had enough._

**Josh:**

_It might sound crazy_

**Puck, Josh and Artie:**

_But it ain't no lie_

_Baby, bye, bye, bye_

**Josh:**

_Tell me why_

**Finn:**

_Ain't nothin' but a heartache_

**Josh:**

_Tell me why_

**Finn:**

_Ain't nothin' but a mistake_

**Josh and Finn:**

_Tell me why_

**Finn:**

_I never wanna hear you say_

**Finn and Josh:**

_I want it that way_

**Finn:**

_You are my fire_

_The one desire_

_You are_

**Finn, Mike and Kurt:**

_You Are..._

_You Are..._

_You Are_

**Josh:**

_Don't wanna hear you say_

**All:**

_Ain't nothing but a heartache_

_Ain't nothin'_

_But it ain't no lie_

_Bye bye_

_Don't wanna be a fool for you_

_Just another player in your game for two_

**Josh:**

_You may hate me but it ain't no lie_

_Baby, bye, bye, bye_

**All:**

_Bye Bye_

_Don't really wanna make it tough (My one desire)_

_I just wanna tell you that I had enough (Tell me why)_

_It might sound crazy but it ain't no lie (I want it that way)_

_Baby bye, bye, bye_

_Bye bye..._

**To hear the actual song, click:  
**

**watch?v=ReqZ4CF7eq4**

**Or search… 'Bye Bye Bye Glee'**

The boys' number was iconic. They took two colossal hits and smashed them together. The result was… truly incredible. The split into half - Josh's half mainly singing the Bye Bye Bye lyrics and Finn's half mainly singing I Want It That Way. They were officially halfway through their final performance as New Directions competitors. They would all be going to their respective colleges all over the country but at that moment, they were all one team. One unit. One act, made up of 12 in-sync competitors.

The next song was Finn and Josh's duet. Although the boy band mash up number was mainly led by those two guys, they had their own duet as well…

_Some people don't know when to quit and that's why they quit_

_Some need to hit the bottom to see they got a problem, they can't handle it_

_But that ain't why I started cleaning up my life_

_Wish it was but, ooh, that would be a lie_

_I've been sober 'cause there ain't no hangover like you girl, no, no, no_

_Baby can you come over, I always find those words at the bottom of a hundred proof, yeah_

_Girl, every time you do_

_I just end up, head all messed up like the sheets where we made love_

_I've been sober since you broke my heart in two_

_'Cause drunk me can't get over you (there ain't no hangover like you)_

_Can't get over, can't get over (there ain't no hangover like you)_

_Oh, no, no, no_

_All those bottles sitting up on the shelf are just salt on the wound_

_One sip and I'm picking up the phone trying not to go home without you_

_And that ain't nothing but a whole lotta pain_

_And that kind of hurt, ooh hurts, it ain't worth another drink_

_I've been sober 'cause there ain't no hangover like you girl, no, no, no_

_Baby, can you come over, I always find those words at the bottom of a hundred proof, yeah-yeah_

_Girl, every time you do_

_I just end up, head all messed up like the sheets where we made love_

_I've been sober since you broke my heart in two_

_'Cause drunk me can't get over you... no_

_Can't get over you, oh, no, no, no_

_I've been sober 'cause there ain't no hangover like you, no, no, no_

_Can you come over_

_I always find those words at the bottom of a hundred proof, yeah-yeah_

_Girl, every time you do_

_I just end up, head all messed up like the sheets where we made love_

_I've been sober since you broke my heart in two_

_'Cause drunk me, yeah drunk me, yeah drunk me_

_Can't get over you (there ain't no hangover like you)_

_Can't get over, can't get over (there ain't no hangover like you), oh, no, no, no_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=SgSCPr6hl-Q &ab_channel=TheVoice**

**Or search… 'Drunk Me Gyth Rigdon the Voice'**

**I highly recommend listening to the song. It's really good!**

With three out of four songs out the way, they only had their group number left and they prepared to end with a bang. The girls, as well as the rest of the boys, joined Finn and Josh on the stage and they all got into position. One song left. One final opportunity to compete as New Directions students. With graduation less than two weeks away, it was probably one of the last times they would be all together so they wanted to make the most of it.

**Josh:**

_I wanna sing, I wanna shout_

**Rachel:**

_I wanna scream 'til the words dry out_

**Tory:**

_So put it in all of the papers,_

_I'm not afraid_

**Finn:**

_They can read all about it_

_Read all about it, oh_

**Emily:**

_You've got the words to change a nation_

_But you're biting your tongue_

**Puck:**

_You've spent a lifetime stuck in silence_

_Afraid you'll say something wrong_

**Artie:**

_If no one ever hears it how we gonna learn your song?_

**Kurt:**

_So come on, come on_

**All:**

_I wanna sing, I wanna shout_

_I wanna scream 'til the words dry out_

_So put it in all of the papers,_

_I'm not afraid_

_They can read all about it_

_Read all about it, oh_

_Oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh_

**Mercedes:**

_Let's get the TV and the radio_

_To play our tune again_

**Tina:**

_It's 'bout time we got some airplay of our version of events_

_There's no need to be afraid_

_I will sing with you my friend_

**Santana:**

_Come on, come on_

**All:**

_I wanna sing, I wanna shout_

_I wanna scream 'til the words dry out_

_So put it in all of the papers,_

_I'm not afraid_

_They can read all about it_

_Read all about it, oh_

_Oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh_

**Mike:**

_I wanna sing, I wanna shout_

**Brittany:**

_I wanna scream 'til the words dry out_

**Finn:**

_So put it in all of the papers,_

_I'm not afraid_

**Emily:**

_They can read all about it_

_Read all about it, oh_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=qTrzSKlldFc &ab_channel=TheXFactorUK**

**Or search… 'Read All About It X Factor 2012 Finalists'**

That was it. They were done. No more performances left. The New Directions had officially done all they possibly could, and they would probably never perform together again. They walked off stage and spent the next little while celebrating. The celebrations were more out of relief than anything else. They had been through hell and fire to get to where they were today and they would've been extremely unhappy if they had graduated without making it to Nationals. Now, even if they didn't win, they would graduate happy.

They waited patiently for the final 5 groups to perform and as the judges stepped into their deliberation room, nervousness mounted once again…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The three judges for Nationals were Lindsay Lohan, Perez Hilton and Martin Fong. They all paced around the room, arguing about who they believe deserved to take home gold. It was the Nationals Showcase, and the stakes had never been higher.

"I have a confession to make." Martin said. "I am a show choir junkie. Some people follow football; some people follow the NCAA basketball tournament; some people follow the daily goings-on in the lives of their wife and children. Not me! I follow competitive high school show choir."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Lindsay Lohan exclaimed, looking up from her tablet at Perez Hilton. She turned her tablet towards him. "Did you just blog about me during that last performance?"

"You're welcome." He smirked. "It's already got over three million hits. And secondly, if you don't love show choir, then what exactly are you doing here, Lindsay Lohan?"

"If you have to ask why a 12-time Teen Choice Award nominee is a celebrity judge, then you don't really understand what the word celebrity means." Martin snapped at Perez. Lindsay stood up.

"I was robbed for Freaky Friday. And I'm here, Perez, because I care about young artists chasing their impossible dreams. I know them. I feel them. I was them. So I'm here to support them unconditionally."

Perez yawned in reply.

"Let's get down to business!" Martin exclaimed. "We need to first narrow down the ten to a top 3."

"I, for one, was really moved by the Scale Blazers' haunting medley homage to Starlight Express." Perez commented.

The Portland Scale Blazers were the show choir from Oregon, obviously.

"You know who I was really impressed with?" Martin said. "The New Directions. They had so much energy it was awesome. And that duet? Oh my god, that was incredible! But they barely scraped through Regionals."

Lindsay nodded.

"I liked them, but they weren't the best singers and dancers." She said. "They are likeable though, and is there anything better than someone making a comeback?" She said, hinting of course to her own comeback as an artist. Perez rolled his eyes.

"The New Directions were horrible." He responded. "That Adele song was absolutely butchered! The soloist looked and sounded like he had just crawled out of a gutter somewhere. I'm Throat Explosion all the way! I think that the lead singer is a star! He's like Tina and Ike Turner put together. Just imagine how much it would mean to those poor, outcast kids to see him/her on National television leading his/her team to victory!"

"This isn't televised." Martin remarked. Lindsay's eyes widened.

"What?" She snapped. "This thing isn't even televised? I am in full imagery-rendering mode, people. I show up here and there's not even a red button to push and a chair that can spin that can spin me around? (Referring to the Voice) Or that I can point at a kid onstage and yell, 'I wanna work with you!' (Referring to the X Factor) Really? I'm seriously firing my manager!"

"Can I use that as an exclusive?" Perez asked. Lindsay shook her head.

"Absolutely not."

"This is serious!" Martin exclaimed, stomping his foot on the floor. "These are kids' dreams on the line out there. Do you know what it looks like when a kid's show choir dreams are disrespected? This is what it looks like, and it really hurts." He said, pointing to himself. "We need to vote now…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

After almost half an hour of deliberation, Martin took to the stage to announce the winner, runner up and third place winner of the competition. The ten show choirs took to the stage, nervously standing together, New Directions being one of them.

"Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen." He said. The man had such gravitas to his voice, and he commanded the attention of every soul in the room. The vast auditorium went from buzzing, to tensely silent. "I would like to start by congratulating each and every performer here today. Your hard work has brought you all here, and you are officially the top 10 show choirs in the whole country. If it were up to me, every single one of you would be taking home gold. But unfortunately that can't be the case. We've had to pick three teams that stood out for us the most. Without further ado, the team who came third place in the National Show Choir Championship is… Portland Scale Blazers!"

The Scale Blazers cheered and collected their trophy, ecstatic. The New Directions, however, looked even more anxious. On one hand, they were still in contention to win the whole thing but on the other, there was a higher chance that they didn't place at all.

"And runners up in the competition… Throat Explosion!"

Contrasting to the Scale Blazers' reaction, Throat Explosion were NOT happy. Like Vocal Adrenaline, Throat Explosion had massive funding so anything less than first place was not good enough for them. New Directions were getting a little bit more hopeful now. Throat Explosion were their main competition in Nationals and given that they only came second meant that there was a chance that New Directions came first. The second before Martin announced the winner was agonisingly long. The New Directions all held hands nervously, hoping and praying that they somehow managed to win. Eventually, they were put out of their misery by Martin finally revealing the results.

"And the winners of the National Show Choir Championship 2020 is…


	52. Chapter 52

" _And the winners of the National Show Choir Championship 2020 is…_

"From Lima, Ohio, McKinley High's New Directions!"

There was an uproar as soon as the words left Martin's mouth. The New Directions started screaming in joy, diving on top of each other and cheering as loud as they possibly could. Even the audience was delighted that they made it: the group's performance of Read All About It was still fresh in their minds. The New Directions were so relieved, and were over the moon. Finn was caught in the middle of a frenzy of high fives, fist bumps and hugs. Will accepted the colossal Nationals trophy from Martin and he lifted it triumphantly into the air. Finn watched Throat Explosion storm out of the auditorium and he smiled. They had been working their asses off all year for this moment, and some of them had been waiting for three whole years. After everything that he had been through in the past year and everything he was about to go through next year in F1, Finn truly deserved the win.

That night, they ended up eating at one of the local pizza joints - all of them pigged out on massive slices of pizza and sublime milkshakes. Finn sat sandwiched between Emily and George, and he opposite Tina. The whole table was chatting about their next year's plans. By this point, they had all finalised where they were going next year, and it spanned across the whole country. Rachel and Kurt were going to NYADA in New York; Mike was going to Joffrey Ballet Academy of Dance in Chicago; Josh was going to Ohio State; Artie was going to the Brooklyn Film Academy to study movie direction; Tina was studying mathematics at Brown University; Santana was studying business at UPENN; Brittany wasn't going to college - she was instead going to live in Pennsylvania with Santana and become a dance coach for young children, a job she would be absolutely perfect for; Mercedes was studying at UCLA whilst trying to get herself a record deal; Emily and Tory were studying at Yale in New Haven; Puck was studying at LSU; and finally, Finn, of course, was joining F1 so would be travelling all over the world.

"So Finn, are you excited for next year?" Mr. Schue turned to Finn and asked. Finn smiled and nodded.

"Definitely." He replied. "It's going to be much harder than anything I've done before, and I'm going to miss everyone so much. I'm going to be travelling for 9 months of the year so I'm not going to see everyone for most of the year but I'm excited to be able to race F1. It was my childhood dream, you know?"

Mr. Schue nodded.

"And the pay must be pretty good, huh?"

Finn laughed.

"Yeah, you know, 20 mill a year. I'll be earning more money in one month than I've ever seen in my life."

"What are you going to spend the money on first?" Puck asked, eagerly. "Lambo? Yacht? Mansion?"

Finn chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, I'll probably just save most of it for my sisters' college. I might buy my family a nicer place to live too."

"BORING!" Puck exclaimed. Finn shrugged. He had read countless stories about celebrities blowing all of their money away until no more came in. Finn was NOT going to be one of those people if he could help it. He was not going to waste away his money, especially in a career where one injury could completely end his career.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The following afternoon, the New Directions flew back to Lima, triumphant. They were National Show Choir Champions and nothing could bring down their mood. Not the fact that their flight was delayed 3 hours, or that the plane was smelly, noisy and turbulent, or that Mercedes' luggage was lost along the way. They all went home that night with huge smiles on their faces, greeting their friends and family as victors.

After Nationals, they only had one more week before they graduated, and it was a bitter-sweet time for all of them. Although they were all excited for the future, they were sad to be moving on from Lima and McKinley - home to so many great memories and fun times. Mr. Schue was just as sad as the rest of the group. The Glee club had become like his family, and it was sad to see them move on, but he was happy to see their ambitions for a bright future.

On Monday morning, the last Monday before they graduated, everyone was in the choir room nice and early. Mr. Schue grinned at them when he walked in.

"What's up, guys? How does it feel to be champions?" He asked them. They all grumbled quietly and Mr. Schue sensed the unhappy tone in their voices.

"What's going on?" He asked. "There's not more drama, is there?!"

Everyone laughed.

"No, don't worry. There's no drama." Rachel said. "It's just that we're all graduating and moving to different places next year, and it makes us so sad to think that we won't be seeing each other anymore."

Mr. Schue nodded and walked over to the board, writing down a single word.

**GOODBYE**

He then turned back to them.

"This week's assignment is easy." He said, melancholy clearly evident in his voice. "Graduation is just a few days away. There's nothing left to prepare for. Our work here is done, so there's only one thing left to do: say goodbye. Everyone here, by the end of the week, is going to have sung a song to say goodbye."

"You know…" Tina said. "A part of me wants to lock these doors and stay in here with everyone forever."

"We can use the wastebasket for the toilet, and we can eat Tory for food as she's been here the shortest so we know her the least." Brittany commented. Mr. Schue just chuckled and picked up Finn's guitar that was lying at the side of the room. He then sat on the stool, sitting opposite his students.

"I really hope you're about to rap." Quinn joked.

"No such luck." Mr. Schue laughed. "I'm leading by example here. This one… is for you guys."

_May the good Lord be with you_

_Down every road you roam_

_And may sunshine and happiness_

_surround you when you're far from home_

_And may you grow to be proud_

_Dignified and true_

_And do unto others_

_As you'd have done to you_

_Be courageous and be brave_

_And in my heart you'll always stay_

_Forever Young, Forever Young_

_Forever Young, Forever Young_

_May good fortune be with you_

_May your guiding light be strong_

_Build a stairway to heaven_

_with a prince or a vagabond_

_And may you never love in vain_

_and in my heart you will remain_

_Forever Young, Forever Young_

_Forever Young, Forever Young_

_Forever Young_

_Forever Young_

_And when you finally fly away_

_I'll be hoping that I served you well_

_For all the wisdom of a lifetime_

_No one can ever tell_

_But whatever road you choose_

_I'm right behind you, win or lose_

_Forever Young, Forever Young_

_Forever Young ,Forever Young_

_Forever Young, Forever Young_

_For, Forever Young, Forever Young_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=Q-SX6eoxntI**

**Or search… 'Forever Young Glee'**

At the end of the song, a lot of the girls had tears in their eyes, and even the guys had trouble keeping them in. They all looked around the room and locked eyes with their friends - Brittany, Quinn and Santana, who had been friends since kindergarten, held hands with each other; Finn, George, Harry and Liam fist bumped and high fived, grinning wildly. Everyone cheered for Mr. Schue as he put down Finn's guitar.

"So that's my goodbye to you guys. I love you all so much, and I have no doubt you will all do great things with your lives. Who would like to sing next?"

Rachel, Mercedes, Tina, Artie and Kurt looked at each other and nodded. Kurt raised his hand.

"Mr. Schue, can we?" Kurt asked. Mr. Schue nodded. The five of them stood up. As graduation had approached, the five of them had decided to work on a special song to sing to say goodbye to Mr. Schue. He had been a mentor to them for the past three years, and he was like a father to so many of them. Because the five of them were the first people to join the Glee club, they decided to sing the first song they ever sung in the New Directions, but with their vastly matured voices and choreography.

_And I said to myself, "Sit down" (Said to myself "Sit down")_

_Sit down, you're rockin' the boat (Sit down)_

_And I said to myself, "Sit down" (Said to myself "Sit down")_

_Sit down, you're rockin' the boat_

_And the devil will drag you under (Ohhhh)_

_By the sharp lapel of your checkered coat_

_Sit down_

_Sit down, sit down, sit down_

_Sit down you're rockin' the boat_

When they finished singing, Mr. Schue had tears in his eyes. It was incredible how far the 5 had come.

"That was the most ghetto number I have ever heard." Santana commented as the five singers sat down.

"Then just call me George Jefferson, because we went from the ghetto to the penthouse. National Champs baby!" Artie exclaimed. Everyone cheered and laughed. A great first day for everyone in McKinley. Only 4 days left.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Later that day, Kurt and Blaine were sitting in Lima Bean, enjoying a nice cup of coffee and biscuits. They both had something on their minds, a burning question that neither boy wanted to ask.

"Look, Kurt, we've been putting this off for far too long, but don't you think we should have the talk?"

Kurt sighed. He knew this was coming.

"Can't we just have four final days of denial?" Kurt pleaded.

"No, no, we cannot." Blaine said, holding Kurt's hand. "This is happening right now, Kurt. It's not some far-off thing in the future. You're graduating, I'm not. I've still got one more year of high school. You know how hard long distance relationships can be. It's been pretty hard even this year when we were only one city away from each other. But now, with you in a different state?"

"Do you want to know how I picture the end of my life?" Kurt said, suddenly. Blaine nodded. "Just like in the Notebook, I'm sitting in a nursing home, talking endlessly about my high school sweetheart… my first love… going on and on about every little detail, going on and on about every little detail as if they matter. Only, in my version, he's there with me, telling me to shut up so he can finish watching the American Cinematheque salute to J-Lo."

Blaine smiled widely.

"So... we're going to be alright?" He asked, tentatively.

"Yes, we're gonna be alright." Kurt replied. "I told you I'm never saying goodbye to you. We'll figure out this whole long-distance relationship thing. I promise."

"Okay." Blaine sighed in relief. "I love you, Kurt."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"OK, who's performing today?" Mr. Schue asked. Santana, Quinn and Brittany raised their hands.

"Mr. Schue, we'll go next." The four girls said, standing up and flattening down their Cheerios skirts. Santana, Brittany and Quinn had been living in the same neighbourhood for as long as they could remember, and been best friends for 15 years. No, they were more than that. They were sisters. Joining the Cheerios together, joining the Glee club together, they had stuck by each other through thick and thin. The three girls decided on Hello, Goodbye by the Beatles.

_You say yes, I say no, you say stop, and I say go, go, go_

_Oh no - You say goodbye, and I say hello_

_Hello, hello - I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello_

_Hello, hello - I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello_

_I say high, you say low, you say why, and I say I don't know - Oh_

_Oh no - You say goodbye, and I say hello_

_Hello, hello - I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello_

_Hello, hello - I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello_

_Why, why, why, why, why do you say goodbye, goodbye - wow_

_Oh no - You say goodbye, and I say hello_

_Hello, hello - I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello_

_Hello, hello - I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello_

_You say yes, I say no, you say stop, and I say go, go, go_

_Oh no - You say goodbye, and I say hello_

_Hello, hello - I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello_

_Hello, hello - I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello_

_Hello, hello - I don't know why you say goodbye I say Hello - Hello_

_Hey-la, He-be Hello_

_Hey-la, He-be Hello_

_Hey-la, He-be Hello_

_Hey-la, He-be Hello_

At the end of the song, everyone clapped politely. Although it was fun to watch their friends perform, it only made their imminent graduation more real, and made them even sadder. Mr. Schue was holding back tears as he clapped and hugged the three girls. He was still having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that soon, his 13 favourite people in the world would be graduating. Sure it was sad, but he didn't have a wife or girlfriend anymore, and these students were like his kids. It was truly depressing.


	53. Chapter 53

The next morning, Finn walked into McKinley alone. He walked to the choir room, and when he walked in, the whole Glee Club was already there.

"Hey guys." Finn said as he walked in. They all nodded at him.

"So…" Mr. Schue said. "Who would like to go next. We only have three days left."

Puck, Artie and Mike raised their hands.

"Mr. Schue, can we please go next?" They asked. He nodded.

"Take it away, boys."

The four guys walked to the front of the room, and turned to their friends.

"Um… I know I'm really the most sensitive guy in the world." Puck said. "But this song, and this goodbye means a lot to me. When we were in the halls of McKinley before Glee, we were in different groups. Hell, I was throwing half of you guys in dumpsters. But then I joined Glee and learnt to not see people for the things that make us different, we saw each other for the ways that we're the same. Because in this room, it doesn't matter if you're a nerd or a jock, gay or straight, what matters is that we're friends."

"Wow Puck, that was actually somewhat profound." Mr. Schue said, shocked. Puck smiled.

"What can I say? I've grown up in the past three years. I'm not the guy who hooks up with random girls anymore."

"Yeah, you are." Santana remarked. Puck sighed and laughed.

"Ok, fine, I am. Hookups rule. But I have actually grown up. Anyways, our song. We're singing Time of Your Life by Green Day."

Puck started strumming his guitar as the three boys took to the stage for the final time.

_Fuck..._

_Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road_

_Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go_

_So make the best of this test, and don't ask why_

_It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time_

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right_

_I hope you had the time of your life_

_So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind_

_Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time_

_Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial_

_For what it's worth it was worth all the while_

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right_

_I hope you had the time of your life_

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right_

_I hope you had the time of your life_

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right_

_I hope you had the time of your life_

Everyone cheered and clapped as the three football players sat down. Despite the many differences the guys had, they were still close and would probably keep in touch for their whole lives. Mr. Schue walked up to the front of the room, still clapping his hands.

"Well done boys. That was superb. And Puck, what you said before, that was exactly what Glee's all about: finding friends who are polar opposites but have a common interest in music. Oh, by the way, I have an announcement. Although Glee is continuing next year, I've decided to retire the name 'New Directions'. We'll come up with a new name with the next crop of students. You guys will be the first and last New Directions."

The New Directions were touched by Mr. Schue's gesture. It brought tears to many of their eyes.

"OK, bring it in guys." He said. For the last time, the New Directions all gathered in a huge group hugs. Race, sexuality, gender and social hierarchy didn't matter. Nothing did when they were all together. As they hugged, the tears started to fall. They didn't want to leave each other. Sure they would probably stay friends for the rest of their lives, but it wouldn't be the same. They wouldn't see each other every day, sing with each other every day, compete alongside each other every day. When they finally disentangled from the hug, they all sat back down, sniffing back more tears. Mr. Schue smiled. "Okay, who's going next?"

Emily and Tory stood up. Everyone raised an eyebrow. Although the two girls were cool with each other, they didn't expect them to be dueting together.

"Girls, take it away…" Mr. Schue said. The two girls walked to the front of the room and then turned to the rest of the group.

"So…" Emily started. "As you guys know, at the beginning, Me and Tory kind of…"

"Hated each other?" Mercedes suggested. Emily and Tory giggled.

"I mean… kinda." Tory said. "But we're cool now. We hated each other before we even got to know each other. But now, I've grown to see that Emily's actually a great person. We're gonna be singing a song that describes our relationship pretty well.

_Fresh cut grass, one cold beer._

_Thank the Lord I am here and now, here and now._

_Summer dress, favorite park._

_Bless your soul, we are here and now, here and now._

_I'm wide awake, so what's the point of dreaming when your life is great?_

_Celebrate the feeling, celebrate the feeling._

_Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay._

_Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh._

_Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay._

_Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh._

_We're screaming out, I believe we'll be okay._

_Sun kissed skin on my lips._

_Thank the Lord I am here and now, here and now._

_Fireflies after dark._

_Bless your soul, we are here and now, here and now._

_I'm wide awake, so what's the point of dreaming when your life is great?_

_Celebrate the feeling, celebrate the feeling._

_Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay._

_Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh._

_Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay._

_Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh._

_We're screaming out, I believe we'll be okay._

_We'll be okay._

_We'll be okay._

_Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay._

_Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh._

_Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay._

_Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh._

_Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay._

_Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh._

_We're screaming out, I believe we'll be okay._

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=G5XYUsqcFn4**

**Or search… 'Be Okay Glee'**

Once the girls sat back down, Mr. Schue turned to the group.

"Wow. Emily, Tory, that was… very emotional. It's great that you two managed to sort out your differences, especially given that you two are going to the same college. Now, correct me if I'm wrong but there is still one duo still left to perform."

Finn and Josh smiled and stood up. Finn picked up his guitar and the boys began to sign the final song of the year as New Directions students.

**To hear the following song, click:**

**watch?v=R1Pmcy74Kfs**

**It's history by One D in case you don't know**

_You gotta help me, I'm losing my mind_

_Keep getting the feeling you wanna leave this all behind_

_Thought we were going strong_

_I thought we were holding on_

_Aren't we?_

_No, they don't teach you this in school_

_Now my heart's breaking and I don't know what to do_

_Thought we were going strong_

_Thought we were holding on_

_Aren't we?_

Suddenly, the Glee Club were transported to the gym, where the whole class were receiving their diplomas. Principal Figgins and Ms. Pillsbury were standing on stage: Figgins was announcing everyone's names, and each graduate would shake hands with both teachers before receiving their diploma from Ms. Pillbury.

_You and me got a whole lot of history (oh oh)_

_We could be the greatest team that the world has ever seen_

"Artie Abrams!" Figgins announced. Smiling, Artie wheeled himself onto the stage to accept his diploma. The Glee club all cheered for him and Mr. Schue, who was in the front row, was the loudest.

_You and me got a whole lot of history (oh oh)_

_So don't let it go, we can make some more, we can live forever_

"Mercedes Jones!"

Mercedes sauntered onto the stage confidently, waving at her parents and accepting the diploma.

_All of the rumors, all of the fights_

_But we always find a way to make it out alive_

"Tina Cohen-Chang!"

Tina walked onto the stage and smiled. The girl she walked into McKinley as was so different to the girl she was leaving as. In sophomore year, she had a fake stutter, goth get-up and no friends. Now, she had loads of friends, no more stutter, a National Show Choir Championship and was going to Brown. She had never been so happy.

_Thought we were going strong_

_Thought we were holding on_

_Aren't we?_

"Rachel Berry!"

Rachel beamed and practically ran to receive her deployment. Her dads were sitting in the audience, waving at her, and she winked at them. Although Rachel was sometimes pretty hard to deal with, deep down she had a good heart, even if it was sometimes shrouded by her competitiveness. Rachel was going to NYADA next year, one of the most prestigious music schools in the States. Her Broadway preparation was officially underway.

_You and me got a whole lot of history (oh oh)_

_We could be the greatest team that the world has ever seen_

"Kurt Hummel!"

Kurt had also changed a lot in the past three years. When he first got to McKinley, he was afraid to make eye contact. He didn't talk about his politics, he didn't share what was in his heart, he was in the closet. And most days, he was also in the Dumpster. But McKinley only made him a stronger, more socially conscious, fashion-forward person. And perhaps, he played some small part in making it possible for tadpole gays all over Lima to be themselves in public. Not a bad legacy for someone who once pretended to be in lust with Rachel Berry so I wouldn't have to date Mercedes Jones.

Kurt accepted his diploma with a beaming smile on his face. Like Rachel, he wanted to be on Broadway in the future, and was going to NYADA next year.

_You and me got a whole lot of history (oh oh)_

_So don't let it go, we can make some more, we can live forever_

"Noah Puckerman!"

Without a doubt, the 'Puckzilla' who entered McKinley was different to the Noah Puckerman he had left. Although crude sometimes, Puck had developed into a kind, conscientious person who could definitely be depended upon if anyone in the Glee club needed him. Definitely not the Puck who would throw the geeks in the dumpster and slushie them. Hell, he was an ally to them now.

_Minibars, expensive cars, hotel rooms and new tattoos_

_The good champagne, and private planes_

_But they don't mean anything_

"Mike Chang!"

As Mike stepped on stage to receive the award, he looked out into the audience. They all looked so small, insignificant, from his vantage point. He realised that that was exactly how he felt at the beginning of high school. He felt like a small fish in a big ocean, always feeling like an outsider and never wanted to find friends and fit in. But Glee changed everything. It built his confidence, made him talk more, join the football team, but most importantly, it convinced him to stray from his family's traditions and aspire to become a dancer rather than a lawyer.

_'Cause the truth is out, I realize_

_That without you here life is just a lie_

"Tory Nichols!"

Tory had been through a whirlwind of a high school experience. She had gone from being the most popular girl in her school in the UK, to transferring across the Atlantic. She then started her intense rivalry with Emily, before finally mellowing out into a kind, caring girl.

She accepted her diploma with pride, and was excited to embark upon the next stage of her life in Yale, with her best friend - Emily - there too.

_This is not the end_

_This is not the end_

_We can make it, you know it, you know_

"Santana Lopez!"

Despite all the bad that happened during her high school experience - getting kicked out of her house, getting cornered in the alley by the jocks, etc. - Santana could not stop praying and counting her blessings that McKinley was the high school she went to. After all, McKinley was also the place where she met her best friend, who convinced her to come out, giving her the opportunity to be with the girl she loved. Now, Brittany and her were moving to Pennsylvania together. Santana wasn't mad that Brittany wasn't going to college. Sure part of it was that Brittany wasn't smart enough to get into any college in the county, but also Santana knew that a children's dance coach was the perfect job for Brittany.

Waving at her mom, dad and abuela who were in the audience, Santana proudly received her diploma and stepped off the stage for the last time.

_You and me got a whole lot of history (oh oh)_

_We could be the greatest team that the world has ever seen_

"Brittany S. Pierce!"

Brittany, who still didn't have much of a clue of what was going on, walked on stage and hugged a surprised Principal Figgins, before walking away, forgetting to take her diploma from Ms. Pillsbury.

_You and me got a whole lot of history (oh oh)_

_So don't let it go, we can make some more, we can live forever_

_You and me got a whole lot of history (oh oh)_

_We could be the greatest team that the world has ever seen_

"Joshua Richardson!"

_You and me got a whole lot of history (oh oh)_

_So don't let it go, we can make some more, we can live forever_

_So don't let me go_

_So don't let me go_

_We can live forever_

"And finally, our Athletic and Arts Award Winner, Finnegan Hudson!"

Finn got the loudest cheer out of everyone who had received an award that day, and deservedly so. Not only was he the football and Glee club hero, he was also by far the kindest guy in school. He always stopped to chat and socialise with others in the hallway, no matter if they were jocks or nerds, and if someone ever needed him, he would be there in a heartbeat. No matter what life threw his way, Finn just kept on pushing through, and when he clutched his diploma, he felt so proud and happy. He didn't know what was going to happen in the future with F1, but all he knew was that he was extremely ready for it, and he had McKinley to thank for that.

_Baby, don't you know_

_Baby, don't you know_

_We can live forever_


	54. Chapter 54

Once they had all gotten their diplomas and officially graduated, Emily waited for Finn to appear outside the auditorium doors. He spotted her and immediately wrapped his arms around her, twirling her in circles.

"Em, we made it!" Finn whispered in her ear as he held her close. "We actually freaking made it!"

"Did you ever doubt that we wouldn't?" Emily asked before she stood on her tiptoes to give Finn a kiss. They were still kissing when their parents caught up with them in the high school foyer.

"OK, that's enough of that!" Carole laughed. "The Cahills and I want some pictures of you with your diplomas."

Emily reached up to wipe the lipstick from Finn's lips with her thumb. Dozens of pictures were taken and Finn, Emily, and all of their friends. After many hugs and handshakes, the graduating class of 2012 began to disburse with their friends and families.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

That afternoon, Finn, Emily and her parents hurried back to the Cahill house to get ready for the afternoon cook-out. Everything was set. Finn had helped Mr. Cahill grilling burgers and hotdogs (something Finn was extremely good at as the only male figure in his family) and Emily and Mrs. Cahill had set up the volleyball net in the grass. The pool was floating in pool toys and lined with pool chairs.

In the shade of the cabana, Finn set up the patio chairs and hung the hammock up. "This is where I'm spending the party," Finn said to Emily as he claimed the hammock. "Just me and you swing back and forth all afternoon."

"You aren't getting in the pool?" Emily asked, surprised.

"Yeah, probably, but I want to spend some hammock time with you first."

"I think that we can manage that," Emily giggled.

Party guests started pouring in the Cahill's backyard before one. The afternoon wore on after a big picnic of hamburgers, hotdogs, and several pasta salads and desserts. Santana and Brittany were making fools of the boys at volleyball. Puck had begged Finn to join the boy's team. Between his and Mike's height, they should easily dominate the girls.

"Why don't you join them?" Emily asked from her place in Finn's arms in the hammock.

"Because I don't want to. I'm happy right here with you," Finn smiled as he gave Emily a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm glad," She giggled as she snuggled even closer to Finn.

"Emily, please give me some room. You've almost rooted me off my side of the hammock," Finn protested.

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to make a memory of how you feel next to me. How you smell so good. How your heart beats in time with mine," Emily smiled, looking up into his brown eyes. "I want to remember this afternoon when I'm in New Haven this fall and you're racing in countries all over the world."

"Me too, but I'll always remember everything about you. We're going to be apart, but it won't be forever," Finn whispered into her ear.

Finn was leaning to kiss her when Josh hit the two of them with a blast from a Super Soaker drenching both of them.

"Little boy, you're going to pay for that!" Finn yelled as he jumped from the hammock.

"You keep forgetting that I'm older that you!" Josh yelled back as Finn pushed him into the deep end of the pool.

Finn dived in behind him and motioned for Emily to join him in the water. Beaming, she dived in and joined him.

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In the evening, the New Directions decided to have a small campfire in the backyard, roasting marshmallows and eating delectable s'mores. They had an amazing time, but it was slightly bittersweet by the end of the night. They all knew that after that night, they were all going their separate ways for the next 4 years, only meeting up for the occasional holiday. Eventually, the clock struck 11, and they all finally went their separate ways. The tearful goodbyes were extremely difficult. Rachel, Kurt and Puck were all leaving the very next morning for their respective cities but the rest of them would be spending a bit of time in Lima before moving for college.

After saying goodbye to Emily, Finn got into his car with a huge smile on his face. He drove home, singing along to the radio. Suddenly, he realised he forgot to tell Emily something before he left. The last thing he remembered was scrolling through contacts and finding Emily's name before he felt his car getting rammed from the side, causing it to roll off the road and into the trees…

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The moment the car hit the trees, Finn assumed he was dead. He kept fading in and out of consciousness. He was in so much pain that he wanted to be unconscious rather than awake. Because when he was awake, he could taste the coppery blood pooling in his mouth. He could feel it grazing his teeth and soaking his tongue. He felt the aching and cracks in his bones. Each crack felt like rocks were burrowing into his skin. He sucked in cramped air, feeling his lungs caving in on themselves. He saw the spots in the corners of his vision, making his head feel like the only thing inside of it was static. He heard a buzzing noise, filling his ears. He felt like he was there for hours, fading and waking and fading and waking. His agony was the only thing keeping him alive. It was the only thing he could feel anymore. That was before he realised something… the other driver! He vaguely remembered the other car spinning off the road beside him. The driver could be just as injured as him! Finn needed to help him! Kicking in the windshield, Finn stumbled and limped out of the car, ignoring the crowd beginning to form around him. Finn made it to the car and as he tried to open the door, he heard the unmistakable cock of a handgun behind him. Slowly, Finn raised his hands in surrender and turned to face the assailant. He had an eerie feeling about who the man was and unfortunately, his guess proved correct. Finn was face to face with a man who he hadn't seen for 4 months and he hoped he would never have to see again.

"Hello, Finn." The man muttered.

"Hey, Sam."

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" _Hey Sam."_

Finn forced his voice to stay calm when on the inside, he was freaking out.

"Long time no see." Finn said. Sam scowled at him.

"Yeah, you know I was pretty busy serving a juvie sentence for assault." Sam spat in reply. "Get on your knees."

Finn didn't listen to him though.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Finn asked. "If you pull that trigger, your life is over."

"My life is already over!" He snapped. "You think anyone wants to hire someone who's been arrested and thrown in juvie? You ruined my life, Finn, and now you're gonna pay."

"Sam, don't do this. If you kill me, you're not just ruining my life. You're ridding the world of a brother, a son, a friend, a boyfriend."

Finn realised he had taken it a step too far with that last word. He had forgotten that Sam was in love with Emily but Sam clearly hadn't. His face filled with rage and he growled.

"SHUT UP!" He bellowed. "GET ON THE GROUND!"

Still, Finn did not comply. However, he did raise his hands to show that Sam had control of the situation. There was a whole crowd around at this point but nobody dared intervene. They had presumably called the cops though so Sam didn't have much time.

"Sam, I know what you're going through." Finn murmured. "I know what it feels like to go off the rails. To feel lost. Your life having no direction. That was me literally a year ago. I would sneak into bars, get blackout drunk every night, get into fights with some pretty hard dudes. I made friends with some bad people, and I was 100% sure that my life was over. But I managed to turn my life around and you can too. Let me help you."

"NO, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WENT THROUGH!" Sam bellowed, his hands trembling as he held the weapon. "Every day, staring at a cinder block wall, cooped in with the worst teenagers the world had to offer. You have no idea the kind of people I was trapped in with. On my first day, three guys cornered me in the mess hall and kicked the crap out of me. That happened pretty much every week for the whole 5 months I was there. But that was all the easy part. The worst part was knowing that when I got out, I would have no life. No future."

Sam cocked the gun and jabbed it against Finn's head. Sam squeezed his eyes shut and his hands trembled even more.

"Ok, you're right. You're right. I don't know what you've been through. But I do know how to bring you in from the dark. Let me help you. Give me the gun, Sam."

Sam slowly brought the gun down and as Finn reached out to take it from him, Finn's sleeve rode up, revealing the tattoo he had gotten a couple of weeks ago on his left forearm. It was Emily's name written with a heart around it. All the anger suddenly came rushing back and, gritting his teeth together, Sam pulled the trigger…

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The bullet went straight through Finn's abdomen, creating both an entry and an exit wound. The pain throbbed in his guts. It was deep and warm, but not in a nice way. It felt like someone had their hand in there and was squeezing his organs either gently or as hard as they could. When it waned, he could move. When it returned, he could only hold still and breathe, breathing slow and deep until it passed. There is no blood anywhere but his abdomen was purple and lumpy where it should be smooth. Every step felt like a nail bomb exploding in his innards.

Sam, after pulling the trigger, dropped the gun in horror and immediately took off. At this point, the crowd finally made it to him and they all went into a panic when they saw him bleeding out into the sidewalk. It was at that moment that Finn knew… he was going to die. He had gotten so lucky on so many occasions: his racing crash in Dubai, being shoved over the edge of the third floor in McKinley, all of the fights he got into when he went off the rails. All that luck was all due to come to an end.

"SIR! SIR! STAY WITH ME!" An EMT Medic shouted, sprinting over to him. As Finn was lifted onto a stretcher, he could feel his consciousness fading fast. He was carried into an ambulance and he was rushed to the hospital. As they were driving, Finn knew that he wasn't going to make it. However, he needed to do something first. He turned to one of the EMTs in the ambulance with him.

"Excuse me? Could you pass me my phone? It's in my jacket pocket. If I'm going to die, I want to make a call."

"You're not going to die. Don't worry." The EMT replied, but he gave Finn the phone anyway. Using the last of his strength, Finn managed to dial Emily's number. Unfortunately, she didn't respond. Finn groaned as a searing pain ripped through his side. He forced himself to record a voicemail. A final message to the love of his life…

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That night, Sarah and Neve both woke up to a blood-curdling scream. They leapt out of their beds and sprinted downstairs to find Carole, standing and trembling. Her arm went limp and her phone slipped out of her hand and onto the ground.

"Mom! What's going on? Are you okay? What happened?" Sarah asked, terrified. Carole took a moment to respond. She couldn't bring herself to speak. Her worst nightmare had just come true.

"It's Finn. He's gone…"


	55. Chapter 55

**2 weeks later…**

Two weeks to the day since his funeral, and it was the first time that Josh had the courage to even look at pictures of Finn and himself. Now, they were all going back to McKInley for a special memorial Mr. Schue was planning. They were all going back - everyone who could. Being together was hard - it made it more real - but he also knew that he needed his friends right now. All of them had delayed their flights to college as none of them were going to miss the memorial. People kept asking him 'how are you feeling?' or 'what are you feeling?' He had no answers. Honestly, what can you say about an 18 year old who gets shot and killed? Everyone wants to talk about how he died, too. The people's insensitive comments only made it harder. Who cares about how he died? It was one moment in his entire life. Josh cared more about how he lived. And anyone who has a problem with that should remember that Finn was his brother.

This wasn't real. It couldn't be. Finn was going to be everywhere. Josh was going to spend his entire life missing him.

Back in McKinley, the four major staff members of the school - Coach Sue, Coach Beiste, Mr. Schue and Mrs. Pillsbury - were sitting in the staff room, still trying to come to terms with what happened.

"You know…" Mrs. Pillsbury said. "I've cleared my entire schedule to provide my services to students and faculty, and not a single person's come in for grief counseling.

"Well, maybe that's because you're not a certified grief counselor." Sue remarked. "Maybe it's just because you're the jittery, mentally-ill bird lady they all turn to find out what college they won't be attending because they missed the application deadline. If students wish to mourn Finn's passing, they're free to visit the memorial garden that I erected. I planted a tree in the exact location where I caught Finn and his girlfriend groping each other during senior year."

"Come on, Sue!" Mr. Schue said, grief and exhaustion filling his voice.

"How can you even joke at a time like this?" Beiste spat.

"Oh, take it easy, Shrek. I'm grieving, and I grieve by insulting those who mean the most to me. It's just a coincidence that it's also what I do when I'm not grieving."

"It just feels so surreal." Ms. Pillsbury said.

"They don't make 'em like Finn." Coach Beiste said. "He had a special something to him, a light that helped guide everyone around him."

"He was our quarterback." Mr. Schue said.

"We honor Finn Hudson by taking care of the people he loved, and the way we do that is by helping them move on." Sue said.

"How?" Ms. Pillsbury asked, completely at a loss.

"By not making a self-serving spectacle of our own sadness. And I think we can all agree, that's what Finn would have wanted."

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Later that day, all of the New Directions gathered in the choir room for a final memorial. A final goodbye. All of the McKinley High Alumni either stayed in Lima or flew in for the memorial. There was a month left of school for the non-graduates, so the hallways were just as busy as always. The 13 New Directions members couldn't believe how everything could be so normal while their lives had been completely shattered. Emily was the only person yet to show up, understandably, as she was having the hardest time of everyone.

"I'm really glad so many of you could make it back for this." Mr. Schue said as he faced the large group.

"We wouldn't miss it for anything Mr. Schue." Mike replied, speaking on behalf of everyone.

"The funeral was for everyone, but I wanted to do something just for us. To memorialise him the only way we know how… by singing. All week long. Anyone who wants to can come up and sing. Maybe a song he sang, maybe something that reminds you of him…"

"Singing isn't going to bring him back." Josh spat, angrily. Josh, like Emily and Tory, was having a really hard time coming to terms with what had happened.

"No, it's not." Mr. Schue said. "Nothing is. Not ever. But… for two minutes or so, we can all maybe remember the best parts of him. So, think of what you want to sing, if you want to sng, and we'll start tomorrow.

"Oh, I… I can't until tomorrow, Mr. Schue." Tina said, standing up. "I've been bawling for three weeks. If I don't get this out now, I don't think I'll ever stop crying."

"Sure, Tina, start us off." Mr. Schue said, encouragingly.

"Um… I remember when I first met Finn. It was during the duets project at the very beginning of Senior year. Finn was the new kid, he didn't know anyone, and we were working on the duet and we were talking. Although we didn't know each other that well, I remember that I slipped out that my stutter was fake, and I thought he was going to get annoyed or something. Instead, he said to me 'Your self-worth is determined by you. You don't have to depend on someone telling you who you are.' He convinced me to go after my boyfriend, Mike, can I have Finn to thank for a lot of the happiness and self-worth I've felt these past few years. I'm going to sing the song we sang together, oh so long ago. This is 'Just a Dream.' He was our leader. We love you, Finn."

_Uhh, uhh, uhh_

_I was thinking 'bout her, thinking 'bout me_

_Thinking 'bout us, where we gon' be?_

_Opened my eyes, yeah_

_It was only just a dream_

_So I travel back, down that road_

_Will she come back? No one knows_

_I realize, yeah_

_It was only just a dream_

_I was at the top and now it's like I'm in the basement_

_Number one spot, now she found her a replacement_

_I swear now I can't take it_

_Knowing somebody's got my baby_

_And now you ain't around, baby I can't think_

_I shoulda put it down, shoulda got that ring_

_Cause I can still feel it in the air_

_See her pretty face, run my fingers through her hair_

_My love of my life_

_My shorty, my wife_

_She left me, I'm tight_

_Cause I knew that it just ain't right_

_Uhh, uhh, uhh_

_I was thinking 'bout her, thinking 'bout me_

_Thinking 'bout us, where we gon' be?_

_Opened my eyes, yeah_

_It was only just a dream_

_So I travel back, down that road_

_Will she come back? No one knows_

_I realize, yeah_

_It was only just a dream_

_When I be ridin man I swear I see her face at every turn_

_Trying to get my Usher on but I can't let it Burn_

_And I just hope she know that she the only one I yearn - for_

_My woman, oh I miss her, when will I learn?_

_Didn't give her all my love, I guess now I got my payback_

_Now I'm in the club thinking all about my baby_

_Hey, she was so easy to love_

_But wait, I guess that love wasn't enough_

_I'm going through it every time that I'm alone_

_And now I'm missing, wishing she pick up the phone_

_But she made a decision that she wanted to move on_

_Cause I was wrong_

_Uhh, uhh, uhh_

_I was thinking 'bout her, thinking 'bout me_

_Thinking 'bout us, where we gon' be?_

_Opened my eyes, yeah_

_It was only just a dream_

_So I travel back, down that road_

_Will she come back? No one knows_

_I realize, yeah_

_It was only just a dream_

_If you ever loved somebody put your hands up_

_If you ever loved somebody put your hands up_

_And now they're gone and you wishing you could give them everything_

_Everything (heyyy)_

_Said if you ever loved somebody put your hands up_

_If you ever loved somebody put your hands up_

_And now they're gone and you wishing you could give them everything_

_Uhh, uhh, uhh_

_I was thinking 'bout her, thinking 'bout me_

_Thinking 'bout us, where we gon' be?_

_Opened my eyes, yeah_

_It was only just a dream_

_So I travel back, down that road_

_Will she come back? No one knows_

_I realize, yeah_

_It was only just a dream_

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"Sit down!" Sue demanded, pointing to the chair opposite her. Tory reluctantly stepped into her office and took a seat. Sue had called her out of Finn's memorial, so whatever she had to say had gotta be important.

"So… I know you were instrumental in raising the funds for the tree in the memorial garden in Finn's honor." Sue said.

"All I did was drive to Home Depot and buy a tree for $20, but, yes."

"Well, it looks like we're gonna have to dip into your Boob Job fund once again. The tree's gone. Someone vandalised the memorial."

Tory's heart dropped. Tears sprang to her eyes.

"I don't understand! Why would someone do something like that?" She exclaimed.

"Who knows?" Coach Sue replied, gravely. "Grief can bring out the irrational in all of us. Sometimes it makes people do very strange things. Sometimes, when people die, we want to hold on to what's left of them to get us through the hard times. I'll take that $20 for a new tree, please. I prefer exact change."

Tory paid the money to Sue without blinking an eye.

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Later that night contained one of the hardest things his family and Josh ever had to do. Emily wasn't yet here, and probably wasn't coming, so it was up to the four of them to sort through Finn's old stuff together. There wasn't much, and they laid three boxes on Finn's bedroom floor: **KEEP** , **GIVE AWAY** and **THROW OUT.**

"I marked these boxes so it'd be easier to separate things." Neve said to Carole.

"Thanks, honey." Carole replied, glumly. Ever since Finn's passing, Carole hadn't slept a wink and it was taking a toll on her. She didn't know how on earth she was supposed to move on with her life with her baby boy, her first-born, buried in the ground with a bullet-wound in his abdomen. The one reassurance that didn't even come close to making up for the pain they were feeling was that Finn's case was open and shut with the police department. There were several eyewitnesses who saw Sam commit the crime so it was an easy arrest for the police. Sam had been given a life sentence in prison without parole for first-degree of a minor (Finn still wasn't 18 as his birthday was in August).

"You don't have to do this now. It can wait." Sarah added, putting a hand on her mother's shoulder.

"There's no timetable." Josh added. He had practically been adopted into their family and he spent more time with them than his own family. Finn had such an amazing family compared to his, who were constantly fighting and were on the brink of divorce, so Josh spent countless dinners at Finn's place.

"No." Carole replied, shaking her head. "We should do it now, or… I'm afraid I'll never do it."

The group started walking around the room and picking up various items. Carole took Finn's favourite vintage F1 jacket out of the cupboard. It was Finn's favourite jacket and he wore it almost every day. She started to place the jacket in the donate box to go with the rest of the clothes, but Josh stopped her.

"No, don't. I want that." He said, taking it from Carole's hands. "My parents, as you know, fight A LOT. Sometimes, it would just get too much for me. I would need to escape from the yelling and the arguing so I'd just come here and Finn had a way to always brighten my spirits. He was like my own personal superman."

Josh put on the jacket and he couldn't help but chuckle at how oversized it was. Finn didn't have an ounce of extra fat on him but he was built so huge that the jacket was comically large on Josh.

"God, his arms were long!" Josh remarked as he sniffed back tears. Carole looked down at the ground.

"You know, I always thought that when I, uh… how do parents go on when they lose a child? You know, when I would see that stuff on the news, I'd shut it off 'cause it was just too horrible to think about, but I would always think: how do they wake up every day? I mean, h… how do they breathe?" She started sobbing. "But you do wake up. And for just a second, you forget. And then… oh, you remember. And it's like getting that call again… and again, every time. You don't get to stop waking up. You have to keep on being a parent, even though you have one less child to love."

Carole collapsed into sobs and there was nothing Finn's siblings - his two sisters and his brother - could do but attempt to comfort her. It was a long night for all of them; they all just lay in their beds and cried their eyes out.


	56. Chapter 56

The next morning, Josh and Tory were standing outside McKinley High, staring at the small tree that had been replanted in memoriam of Finn. Tory turned to Josh.

"Hey, give me that jacket." She said. "Seriously, I'll pay you for it. You have so many mementos. I got nothing to remember him by."

"Well, you can't have this." Josh said, bluntly. Tory started to get annoyed.

"That jacket is reserved for people who've earned it." She snapped. "He earned that jacket for winning the tryout, and as the next best racer out of the three of us, I want it."

Tory squared up to Josh. Although Josh was much bigger and would probably win in a fight, Tory never backed down.

"So what are you gonna do, beat me up and take it from me?" He chuckled. "You can't have it." He snapped, walking away.

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Later that day, Brittany and Santana were staring at Finn's old locker. A whole shrine had been made to him in front of him, completely with messages, candles and flowers. It was absolutely beautiful. Suddenly, three of the new Cheerios walked over and started blowing out the candles and removing them. Brittany and Santana's eyes widened.

"Um… what the hell do you think you're doing?" Santana asked.

"Principal Sylvester told us the candles have got to go. She said she got a call from the fire marshal." She snarked, picking up the candles. Santana, who had finally reached her breaking point after an extremely stressful two weeks, shoved the Cheerio into the lockers and started choking her with his forearm.

"Listen, puta… my best friend just died, so I'm not really thinking straight, and I have no problem beating up a girl. I will tear you limb from limb and dump your remains in the Ohio River, until you keep walking. NOW!"

Brittany watched the exchange and her eyes widened. She quickly dragged Santana away. The last thing they wanted was for her to also be arrested for assault.

"It's not worth it." Brittany whispered in his ear.

"But…" Santana exclaimed, before turning back to the Cheerio.

"Look, this is… this is insane." Santana spat at the younger girl and then ran down the corridor to Sue's office. She entered and slammed the door behind her.

"You have no right to take down that memorial!" Santana yelled.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I do, Sandbags. I allowed that memorial to remain in the hallway for over a week." Sue coolly replied.

"Oh please! You want that memorial gone because you're such a coldhearted bitch." Santana shouted, her voice starting to break with tears.

"What did you just call me?" Sue growled.

" A miserable, self-centered bitch." Santana spat. "Who has spent every waking minute of her time here trying to make our lives miserable. I'm officially over it!"

"I don't care for your attitude." Sue said.

"Well, I don't give a rat's ass what you care for! You are not my principal. See, I don't go here anymore, Sue, and that means I can finally tell you exactly what I think of you. I have HATED you ever since the day I met you. You are a horrible person who never had a nice word to say about Finn Hudson, so don't you dare think for a second that he didn't hate you too!"

"If I were you, I would choose my next few words very carefully." Sue growled, threateningly.

"What are you going to do?" Santana said, slightly hysterically. "You gonna expel me?"

"You get the hell out of my office!" Sue shouted.

"How about you make me?" Santana said, squaring up to Sue.

"Donna, call the police!" Sue shouted at her immobile receptionist who was in the next room.

"Donna, if you call them, I will shove my foot so far up your…"

"THAT'S ASSAULT!" Sue shouted. Santana shook her head.

"No, this is assault!" She shouted back, and she sent a mean uppercut right into Sue's chin, and left the room.

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"Aah, Will, right on time!" Ms. Pillsbury said as Will entered her office. Will and Emma had started dating a year ago and had recently gotten engaged but Finn's death had put a pause on any wedding planning.

"Emma, I'm happy some people are finally coming to you for help, but I don't think I need grief counseling."

"Have a seat." Emma said. "Come on."

Reluctantly, Will sat down next to Emma in her cosy office.

"Will, I was with you when you found out that Finn died. Okay? I've been with you the whole time and I couldn't help but notice something."

"What?" Will asked.

"You haven't cried." Emma replied.

"What are you saying, that… that I don't feel anything?"

"No, that's not what…"

"Of course I feel something, Emma. I-I feel… I feel more than I know how to express. I… I'm heartbroken. Finn was… Finn was my best friend. My mentee. My non-biological son. To be honest, I don't even know how we're all supposed to move forward, but in the meantime, I have to make sure that the people around me are taken care of."

"Okay. Okay." Emma said. "Listen to me, okay? I love you. Whatever you feel and however you want to show it, that's okay. I just… I think there's gonna come a time when you need to... let it all out, and I want you to know that I plan on being here for you when you do."

Will kissed Emma's forehead.

"I have to get back to class." He said.

"Okay." She said, and he left the room.

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The next morning, Mr. Schue was sitting in the choir room and reading some old sheet music when suddenly, he noticed a couple of loose pages sticking out of one of the notepads. He pulled it out and immediately noticed Finn's untidy handwriting. It had been one of the unique solo covers he had spent hours working on with Mr. Schue. Mr. Schue put his head in his hands. On one hand, all he wanted to do was break down and weep, but he knew he couldn't. He needed to stay strong for everyone.

Suddenly, the door to the locker room swung open and Josh stumbled inside. Mr. Schue stood up when he saw him, he immediately knew that he was intoxicated.

"You're drunk." He shouted. "You puke in my locker room, you're cleaning it up."

"Come on, what's the big deal?" Josh asked, stumbling over to a chair.

"Look, I get needing something to get through the first few days, but it's been two weeks. You don't have to be scared to have feelings."

"That's crap! Of course I do!" Josh shouted.

"WHY? We're all having them!" Mr. Schue yelled back.

"Not like mine!" Josh bellowed. "No one understands!"

"Understands what? Tell me!"

"That if I start crying, I don't think I'll ever stop!" He bellowed. Josh kicked a cupboard in anger.

"You know, Finn would've kicked over one of my chairs." She pointed out, with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah." Josh replied. "That was his specialty."

"Sit down." Mr. Schue said, pointing to the chair next to him. Josh walked over and sat down next to him. Slowly, tears started to stream out of his eyes.

"I can't take it." He sobbed. Mr. Schue hugged him. "What chance do I have of not being an idiot and hurting people without him around to remind me who I really am?"

"You just go to do that for yourself now… and see yourself the way he saw you."

"It's not good enough for me! It's not like when he was alive!"

"Well, you've gotta make it good enough because it's all we got left. And I'm telling you this straight, 'cause that's how you and I talk. He's dead… and all we've got left is his voice in our head."

Both of them collapsed into sobs.

"I'm sorry, but it's time you… you gotta be your own Quarterback."

Josh nodded and sighed, blinking back tears and forcing his voice to be steady.

"Do you think we could… rename the choir room after him or something? Other kids should know who he was years from now."

"Yeah." Mr. Schue replied. "I can get that done. But you gotta promise to put the tree back."

Josh looked up quickly at Mr. Schue.

"I didn't take the tree." He said, unconvincingly. She glared at him. "Fine, I took the tree." he admitted. "It was a garbage tree, though. It wasn't big enough."

"They grow, you know." Mr. Schue replied.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Who would like to sing for us today?" Mr. Schue asked.

"I would, if that's okay." A voice from the corner of the room. Everyone turned to see Quinn standing in the corner of the room, tears stained on her pale cheeks. None of them had seen her since her expulsion from McKinley but she had clearly heard about Finn's death. Lima was a small town and a disaster as big as that was the talk of the town for weeks.

"Quinn… What are you doing here?" Mr. Schue asked.

"I wanted to apologise to him." Quinn murmured, tears now trailing down her face. "I know Finn and I had our differences. What I did to him, and what I tried to do to him was unforgivable. I used his kind, caring, generous, selfless personality against him. I was manipulative, I was cruel, I was a bitch to you before, during and after the pregnancy. I helped Sam break you and Emily up. I sat by and did nothing as I watched Sam's crush on her become a full-blown obsession. Finn, I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. "Please forgive me. Please…"

Her voice trailed away into sobs. When she eventually composed herself, she took a deep breath.

"I'm going to be singing a song that means a lot to me during this really rough time. I'm singing Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word by Elton John. It means a lot to me because if I just apologised earlier, maybe he wouldn't have gone to the grave hating me."

"Quinn… he didn't hate you." Santana said. "That was the amazing thing about Finn: his forgiveness. You could piss him off one day and he'd wake up the next, happy. He had the kindest heart in the world and didn't have a resentful, grudge-holding bone in his body."

Quinn sighed.

"Look, guys, some advice. Don't sleep on an argument. Not just with your boyfriend/girlfriend, but with everyone. If I had known that my last conversation with Finn would be me talking shit about Emily behind her back and Finn getting pissed at me, I would have definitely changed what I said. I would have tried to make up with him about the baby situation. Now, I no longer have the chance. Anyways, Finn, this one's for you. I'm really sorry."

_What I got to do to make you love me?_

_What I got to do to make you care?_

_What do I do when lightning strikes me?_

_And I wake to find that you're not there?_

_What I got to do to make you want me?_

_What I got to do to be heard?_

_What do I say when it's all over?_

_Sorry seems to be the hardest word._

_It's sad, so sad_

_It's a sad, sad situation._

_And it's getting more and more absurd._

_It's sad, so sad_

_Why can't we talk it over?_

_Oh, it seems to me_

_That sorry seems to be the hardest word._

_What do I do to make you want me?_

_What I got to do to be heard?_

_What do I say when it's all over?_

_Sorry seems to be the hardest word._

_It's sad, so sad_

_It's a sad, sad situation._

_And it's getting more and more absurd._

_It's sad, so sad_

_Why can't we talk it over?_

_Oh, it seems to me..._

_Sorry seems to be the hardest word._

_Yeah._

_Sorry!_

_What do I do to make you love me?_

_What I got to do to be heard?_

_What do I do when lightning strikes me?_

_What have I got to do?_

_What have I got to do?_

_When sorry seems to be the hardest word._


	57. Chapter 57

At this point, Quinn was full-on sobbing, and couldn't speak. The back-up singers and band stopped playing, as Quinn clearly couldn't sing another word. It was unlike Quinn to break down like this, so Mr. Schue and Santana, stood up, concerned, and they walked towards her. Before they reached her, Quinn sprinted out of the room, screaming and sobbing. She sat in the auditorium, looking at the stage that Finn had performed so many times on, when she felt someone sit down next to her. It was Josh.

"Look, Josh, if you're going to mock me or something, now's not the time." Quinn said, tiredly.

"You okay?" Josh asked, gently. "You sang beautifully."

"I couldn't do it." Quinn mumbled.

"There was only one more chorus."

"I couldn't do it." She said again. "When I was singing, all I could think about was senior year, when I got pregnant how I acted like a complete bitch to him."

"Oh come on, I'm sure he's forgiven you." Josh said, putting a hand on Quinn's hand.

"I know, but that's only because Finn's the most forgiving person in the world. I didn't even apologise to him afterwards."

"Of course you did." Josh said. "Finn had nothing against you at the end, Quinn. Look, if there's one thing that I've learned from Finn dying, it's that regret is a wasted emotion. Sure you and Finn had your differences, but you were also one of the best duet couples in McKinley Glee club history. I'm sure Finn had regrets too, but who cares now?"

"He was a much better person than I am." Quinn said, quietly. Josh laughed.

"He was a much better person than all of us. Don't take it personally. But Finn really cared about you. He cared about everyone. It didn't matter how many arguments or fights occurred, he would always forgive and forget."

Quinn nodded. She had started crying again, just thinking about Finn.

"Can you leave please?" She asked, quietly. Josh nodded and was about to walk back to the choir room for the rest of the memorial when he turned back for a moment and came back to Quinn. He took off Finn's jacket and draped it around Quinn's shoulders.

"Here. You look like you need it more than me." He said, simply, before walking back to the memorial. Quinn needed a bit of time away from the memorial though. It was too much. She decided to go to the nurse's room to take a quick nap.

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After a couple of hours break from the memorial, the Glee club all gathered back in the choir room to continue.

"Um… Mr. Schue? Could I please sing?" Josh asked. Mr. Schue nodded and Josh stood up. He picked up a guitar and sat on a stool.

"God… I have no idea what to say. Finn was my brother. We stuck by each other no matter what, and we always had each other's back. When I found out that Finn was gone, I honestly believed that a life without him isn't one worth living. I was thinking about doing something stupid, but I didn't, because I knew that Finn would never forgive me if I did. As you guys know, we were racing drivers for the same team so we spent a lot of time travelling across the country for races. We would spend a hell of a lot of time in transit so to pass the time, Finn and I used to write songs together. And I remember once, we wrote a song and it was Finn's favourite song to sing. He would sing it in the shower, in the car, everywhere. It was called All Of Me.

_What would I do without your smart mouth?_

_Drawing me in, and you kicking me out_

_You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down_

_What's going on in that beautiful mind_

_I'm on your magical mystery ride_

_And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright_

_My head's under water_

_But I'm breathing fine_

_You're crazy and I'm out of my mind_

_'Cause all of me_

_Loves all of you_

_Love your curves and all your edges_

_All your perfect imperfections_

_Give your all to me_

_I'll give my all to you_

_You're my end and my beginning_

_Even when I lose I'm winning_

_'Cause I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you, oh oh_

_How many times do I have to tell you_

_Even when you're crying you're beautiful too_

_The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood_

_You're my downfall, you're my muse_

_My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues_

_I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you_

_My head's under water_

_But I'm breathing fine_

_You're crazy and I'm out of my mind_

_'Cause all of me_

_Loves all of you_

_Love your curves and all your edges_

_All your perfect imperfections_

_Give your all to me_

_I'll give my all to you_

_You're my end and my beginning_

_Even when I lose I'm winning_

_'Cause I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you, oh oh_

_Give me all of you_

_Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts_

_Risking it all, though it's hard_

_'Cause all of me_

_Loves all of you_

_Love your curves and all your edges_

_All your perfect imperfections_

_Give your all to me_

_I'll give my all to you_

_You're my end and my beginning_

_Even when I lose I'm winning_

_'Cause I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you_

_I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you, oh oh_

When Josh finished singing, everyone clapped. Tears came to everyone's eyes as they remembered how Finn used to sing that song. They all gathered around Josh and gave him a group hug - they knew how hard it was for him. Probably, asides from Emily, he was going through the roughest time. Suddenly, the door swung open and Quinn stormed inside.

"Where is it, Josh?!" Quinn screamed at him. Josh raised an eyebrow.

"It's just a tree. I told Mr. Schue I'd put it back." He replied.

"No, not the tree. Finn's jacket. I went for a lie-down in the nurse's office, hung it up on the coat rack by her door, and when I woke up from my grief nap, it was gone. I know you took it! We ALL know you took it!"

"I didn't take a jacket." Josh snarled.

"If we were rounding up the usual suspects, that would pretty much just be you." Artie remarked.

"I didn't take FINN'S JACKET!" Josh screamed, slamming a hand on the piano.

"ENOUGH!" Mr. Schue yelled. "Please! No fighting this week."

The bell rang and everyone shuffled out the room. Quinn shoulder-barged past Josh and left the room. Soon, it was just Mr. Schue and Josh left in the room.

"Mr. Schue." Josh said. "You can keep the jacket tonight, but I need it back tomorrow. It's Quinn's."

Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow.

"Pardon me?" He said. Josh rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Mr. Schue! I spent enough time with Finn for him to teach me how to read people. You have the jacket. You stopped our argument so we'd stop talking about it."

"Josh, I don't have Finn's jacket." Mr. Schue scoffed.

"Really, so if I open that bag, I won't find a vintage F1 jacket in there?" Josh asked, pointing to Mr. Schue's backpack, which was lying at the side of the room. He opened the bag and revealed a blue and black vintage jacket. Mr. Schue put his head in his hands in shame, and Josh softened a little.

"Look, Mr. Schue, I understand wanting the jacket. All of us want some piece of Finn to keep close to us. But that jacket is Quinn's. You need to give it back."

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Santana cautiously walked into Sue's office that afternoon. She knocked on the door and Sue looked up, instantly wary when she saw who it was.

"I owe you an apology." Santana said.

"Have a seat." Sue replied. Santana sat on the sofa next to her former-cheerleading coach.

"Okay, look, all I can say is that I'm really…"

"Shut up." Sue cut in. "You were absolutely right." Sue said. "Everything you said, you were right. I was horrible to that kid, I was horrible to everyone, and I'm utterly destroyed that he died thinking I didn't like him."

"Well, um… maybe this could be a lesson. You know, you could start being nicer…" Santana started.

"Oh, cut the crap, will you?" Sue interrupted again. "I don't care about that. I don't care about people. I care about him. He was such a good guy, and I'll never get to tell him. There's no lesson here, no happy ending. There's just nothing. He's just gone."

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Soon, it was the final day of the memorial. Mr. Schue had given back the jacket to Quinn, and apologised profusely. Quinn felt so bad for yelling at Josh about it, so bad that she actually offered to give Josh the jacket. He politely declined though. He said that because he had more memories with Finn, Quinn deserved more mementos.

The Glee club were standing in front of Finn's locker, looking at the shrine that they had made. Half the school, both alumni and current students had left messages. It was incredible to see how many lives Finn had touched.

"This is sort of cheesy." Mercedes said. Suddenly, someone walked up behind them.

"No, it's beautiful."

They all turned and saw Emily. Their mouths dropped. They didn't think that Emily would be coming to the memorial. The funeral was that afternoon and although they expected her to come to the funeral, her presence at the memorial was extremely unexpected.

"I just had to see it." Emily explained.

They walked into the choir room together, and Emily stood at the front of the room.

"Nobody treat me with kid gloves, okay?" She said. "I don't know what to say, either. I loved Finn, and… he loved me, and he loved all of you guys. I know he did. I like to sing in the car and, um… and before Finn, I used to sing alone…" Emily's voice cracked from her tears, but she forced herself to continue. "This was the first song that I… sang with him when we would… drive around together, so… this is for him."

_We stood so tall we caught a plane_

_By the wing and held it safe_

_Until we found it a place to land_

_We laid across the ocean wide,_

_Bridged the gap in record time,_

_The people traveled across and_

_Kissed our handsAll for love, we become_

_Larger than lifesize, wondersome_

_Great in the eyes of someone_

_Larger than lifesize we become,_

_Great in the eyes of someone_

_We smiled so bright the sun went down_

_Rose above the maddening crowd_

_We lit the streets with the sweetest glow_

_We held the globe and made it turn_

_Wandered through the universe_

_The men of science observed through telescopesAll for love, we become_

_Larger than lifesize, wondersome_

_Great in the eyes of someone_

_Larger than lifesize we become,_

_Great in the eyes of someoneLarger than lifesize, we become_

_Larger than lifesize we become,_

_Great in the eyes of someone_

**To hear the actual song, click:**

**watch?v=4HCdrVUVC9A**

**Or search… 'Lifesize - A Fine Frenzy'**

**I highly recommend this song. It is perfect for the situation**

The performance was so full of emotion, full of grief, full of heartbreak. Tears rolled down Emily's cheeks as she mourned her dead boyfriend. He was gone, and all she had left was the memories.

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Later that day, Quinn was helping Mr. Schue take down Finn's memorial shrine. Things between them had been icy cold since Mr. Schue took Finn's jacket, and he felt so guilty about it.

"Look, Quinn, I'm so sorry about the jacket. I didn't realise how much it meant to you." He said.

"It's okay, Mr. Schue. Honestly, it's okay. I'm just glad that I've got it back before I go home."

"Home, here home?" Mr. Schue asked, referring to Lima. Quinn shook her head.

"Oregon. That's my home now. I'm not coming back here for a while. More than a while. Maybe never. You know, I used to love being here, but now this just reminds me of everything that I've lost."

"I understand." Mr. Schue said. "You should go."

Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"Well, geez, Mr. Schue, you don't have to rush me out the door."

"I'm a teacher." He said. "It's supposed to make me happy to see my kids grow up and leave the nest."

"Does it?" Quinn asked, straight-up.

"Well, I can say for a fact that it certainly beats the alternative."

Mr. Schue hugged Quinn and they both spent the next couple of hours crying.

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Josh and Mr. Schue were on the lawn of McKinley, and Josh had just finished planting another tree. Once he was done, he put the shovel down and opened a small cooler that was next to him, taking out two beer bottles.

"Seriously, Josh?" Mr. Schue growled.

"It's root beer." He said, handing him one of the bottles.

"Oh," He said, laughing and accepting the glass bottle. They clinked their bottles together and took a sip.

"Hey, you know? Josh said. "50 years from now, when this tree is 30 feet tall, it'll finally be the same height as Finn."

Mr. Schue chuckled at the joke.

"Do you think people will know, 50 years from now, who the tree was planted for?" He asked.

"Probably not." Mr. Schue said, honestly.

"You know what's tripping me out?" Josh said. Mr. Schue shook his head. Josh pointed at the plaque that was planted onto the ground, next to the tree. It read:

**In Loving Memory of Finn Hudson 1994 - 2016**

Josh pointed to the hyphen between the two dates.

"This line… it's his whole life. Everything that happened is in that line."

"What are you gonna do with your line now, Josh?" Mr. Schue asked.

"I'm gonna make a man of myself." He replied. "You know, if Finn was around, I'd just keep letting him point me in the right direction. Now… it's up to me to figure it all out."

"I'm proud of you." Mr. Schue said.

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"Hey Mr. Schue." Emily said, as she walked into the choir room. Everyone had gone home, as the memorial was officially over, but Mr. Schue was still in school. "How are you doing?" She asked.

"Everyone keeps asking me that." He sighed.

"Well, from what I hear, you've been a rock for everyone, so I know that that means that sometimes you don't get to grieve yourself."

"I'm okay." He replied. "I mean, I'm… I'm really not okay, but, uh, yeah. More importantly, how are you?"

"I have no idea." She whispered. "I talk to him a lot. I can still see his face, and can hear his voice so clearly. Do you think that I'll ever forget it? Because I'm afraid that one day, I will."

A tear ran down her cheek.

"What do you talk to him about?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Anything. I mean, when we were dating, it was, you know, pretty much me talking all the time and him just pretending to listen, so it's not really that different."

They both chuckled.

"I had it all planned out." Emily said. "He was going to have his F1 career and we were going to start a life together. He would be able to get his education then too. Did he ever tell you what he wanted to be after F1 retirement?" Emily asked. Mr. Schue shook his head.

"No, I don't know." He said.

"He wanted to be a racing teacher. He said that he wanted to inspire kids the way you inspired him."

Mr. Schue was speechless. A couple of tears ran down his cheek.

"He would have made a great teacher. He cared about everyone."

Emily nodded.

"Yeah, and then we would get our happily ever after." She finished.

"It's a good plan." Mr. Schue commented. "Did you tell him?"

"I didn't have to. He could always tell what I was thinking, even if I didn't say it. He could practically read my mind."

"And… now what?" Mr. Schue asked. Emily shrugged.

"I don't know. Something different."

"Maybe something better." Mr. Schue pointed out.

"I just… I don't think that that's possible. He was my person. But thank you so much for doing all of this. I felt like I didn't know how everyone else was hurting almost as much as I was."

And thus ended the memorial for Finn Hudson. The funeral was still yet to come though.


	58. Chapter 58

On Friday afternoon, at the end of the memorial, they had the official funeral for Finn Hudson. It started with a Wake at Finn's house. Finn's whole family, the whole Glee club, his racing buddies and pretty much everyone else he knew made it out from all over the country. All of them wanted to say one final goodbye.

In Finn's house, his family were barely coping. None of them had slept since the incident and they had barely eaten either. As well as saying a final goodbye, part of the reason the Glee club needed to be there was to look after Emily. She had technologically blacked out for the two weeks before the memorial and just didn't seem the same. Understandably so - after all, the love of her life had just been shot. Tory, Josh, Santana and Brittany - Emily's closest friends - stood together during the wake, none of them knowing what exactly to say to Emily.

"This is the toughest time in Emily's life, and I feel absolutely useless." Santana remarked. "I mean, what can we do to help?"

"Well, don't look at me. Emily stayed over at my house last night because I didn't want her to be alone. This morning, she said she had to pee. I said, don't worry I'll do it for you. Halfway through the pee I'm like this doesn't even make sense." Brittany replied.

"Well, I've been to a couple funerals, so I know my role." Tory said. "Whatever Emily needs to get through this day, I got it right here." She said, opening her large handbag. The other three peered in and raised an eyebrow.

"Woah." They all said.

"Cigarettes, alcohol. Are these firecrackers?" Josh asked in surprise, pulling an item out of the bag. "My god, Tory, you've somehow crammed Tijuana into a purse."

Suddenly, Carole walked past them and Tory snapped the bag shut quickly.

"God, be cool, nerds!" Tory whispered. "Whatever Emily needs, I'm there. I'm on Emily duty."

Santana and Brittany both snickered quietly.

"She said 'doody'." Brittany giggled. Josh raised an eyebrow.

"Really, guys? At a funeral?" He asked. They shrugged.

"Uh, okay. While not all of us possess your lofty sense of decorum, dealer from an '80s movie, we have to laugh today. It's healthy." Santana responded, before realising something. "Wait a minute! Today, we are gonna make Emily laugh."

"How?" Tory asked, unconvinced.

"San, what's the one thing that always cracks her up?" Brittany asked, smiling at her girlfriend.

"Internet footage of a guy getting hit in the nuts?" Santana suggested. Brittany nodded.

"Exactly! So we are gonna get our sister a four star nad-rattler. You search knees, feet, banisters fire hydrants and diving boards. I'll cover bats, rackets, hockey sticks, golf clubs and riding crops."

"What about animals?" Santana asked.

"Ah! You take claws, paws and talons. I'll take hooves, beaks and clenched monkey fists. Let's do this!" She exclaimed. Josh and Tory rolled their eyes. Suddenly, Emily walked into the room and they looked at her, instantly prepared to attend to her every whim.

"Hey, guys. Sorry. Um… I left my charger at home and I haven't used my phone since…"

"Outlet or USB?" Tory asked. Emily looked taken aback.

"Uh, outlet thank you." She said. Tory opened her bag and handed her one. Josh turned to her.

"Wow, you really do have everything in there, don't you?" He said. She nodded.

"Yeah, you're like Mary Poppins if her magic purse was filled with drugs." Santana remarked.

"If?" Tory raised an eyebrow. "San, the kids in that movie jumped into a painting and spent 15 minutes chasing a cartoon fox. Spoonful of _sugar_? I don't think so."

Emily walked over and joined them and right behind them, Carole was talking to the Reverend.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Carole." He said. Emily gritted her teeth when she instantly recognised his voice. That was the father of her ex-boyfriend, Tray. She had nothing against the man so said nothing.

"Thank you, Reverend." Carole replied. "We're so happy that you're going to lead the services today."

"Unfortunately, I can't." He stammered. "My oldest daughter in Chicago just went into labor. But I'm leaving you in the capable hands of my second-in-command, my son."

That was when Emily finally turned around to join the conversation.

"Um… your son?" She asked. The Reverend's eyes lit up when he saw Emily. As far as he knew, his son and Emily had broken up because they just had too different interests and it was an amicable break up however, that was not the case. In reality, they had broken up for a far more sinister reason. Emily was a sophomore and Tray a senior when they briefly dated and they broke up because one night, when Tray was hammered after a party, he tried to touch her and go further than she was willing to go. She immediately ran away and broke up with him. She never thought she'd have to see him again, and she never imagined that the love of her life's funeral would be led by him.

"Emily! Oh, you remember Tray! I'll go grab him." The reverend said before walking away. Emily turned to her friends, who were watching the conversation intently.

"Guys, Tray is my ex-boyfriend." She murmured. "Things didn't end well between us, to say the least."

None of them knew what to respond to that. Suddenly, Brittany spoke up.

"Emily Cahill, you could use a laugh!" She exclaimed, before handing Emily her phone and pressing play. "This video is entitled Little League Coach Gets Hit in the Nuts by a Foul Ball and then Vomits in a Garbage Can. I don't want to give anything away. Let's just watch."

They played the video and both Santana and Brittany laughed but Emily didn't.

"Tray Platt." She murmured. "I can't believe my boyfriend's funeral service is being led by Tray Platt."

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An hour later, Josh, Emily and Finn's family were sitting with Tray, discussing what was going to happen during the funeral service that was shortly to come.

"So my dad asks these questions to create a theme for the service or… whatever." Tray said, lazily. He really didn't care about the service and if anything, he wanted to make his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend's funeral as bad as possible. "Question 1… what were your last words with the deceased? Lame. Question two…"

"Wait!" Carole said. "My last words with Finn were lovely. I've been thinking about them a lot."

"Me too." Sarah replied. "It was the weekend before he died and we went for a hike and had this amazing talk."

That was a tradition Finn and Sarah had for as long as she could remember. The first weekend of every month, the two of them would drive out to one of the hiking trails in the State Parks and they would just chat about everything. Because Finn was a senior, he was spending less and less time at home so those hikes were about half the way Finn and Sarah maintained such a close bond.

"My last day with Finn, he taught me how to skate." Neve added.

"Last words seem like a good theme." Carole nodded. "Emily, honey, do you remember the last thing Finn said to you?"

Emily shook her head.

"Excuse me." She said before walking back to her friends. As she walked, she thought back to that day and about what her last words with Finn were…

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_Finn was travelling to L.A that night for a couple of days for an official contract signing with his F1 team and he had just kissed her goodbye after helping her clean up the campfire._

" _Emily, there's something I want to say before I leave." Finn said._

" _Yeah, babe?" She asked._

_"Could I snag that extra hot dog for the flight?" He asked. Emily raised an eyebrow._

_"Dream on! I'm making a sandwich with that!"_

_Finn laughed._

_"Respect. It was worth a go." Finn responded._

" _Don't they have food on the plane?" She asked. Finn nodded._

_"Yeah, but plane food is ass."  
_

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"Plane food is ass. Those are the last words Finn will ever say to me. Right after I denied the man a hotdog. Oh God!"

Tory handed Emily a flask from inside her bag and Emily accepted it, gratefully taking a swig. Suddenly, she spat out the drink and jumped.

"Wait! I'm wrong! That wasn't it. He left his jacket as my place and he came back for it!"

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_Finn reached into the back of his truck and when he grasped at thin air, he groaned. He had forgotten his jacket at Emily's place! He needed to get to the airport in 3 hours and he hadn't even packed a bag for the trip yet. It was going to be extremely close for time but he forced himself to turn around and drive back to Emily's house. When he made it, he knocked on the door. It swung open moments later and Emily stood, beaming at him, in the doorway, his jacket in her hands. He smiled at her._

_"How did you know?" Finn laughed. Emily giggled and shrugged._

_"I just know you that well." She replied. Finn chuckled._

_"You sure do. OK, I've gotta go. See you, babe." Finn murmured, kissing her softly. His eyes then widened. "Ooh! One more thing! While I'm gone, you've gotta rent The Karate Kid 2. I caught it on the cable last night and it totally holds up!"_

_Emily giggled._

" _Bye, baby." She replied, before kissing him and he walked out of the house moments later._

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"Karate Kid 2 is the second-best of the series, so… maybe I can live with that." She said to Tory. Suddenly, there was a short beeping sound. "Oh, sorry, my phone's charged." She said, unplugging it and picking it up. Her eyes widened when she scrolled through her phone.

"Oh my god." She murmured.

"What is it?" Tory asked.

"I have a voicemail from Finn…"

Everyone's jaws dropped.

"You have a voicemail from Finn? How?" Josh asked, confused.

"My phone died the afternoon before he died and I hadn't charged it so he must have called right before…"

Emily's voice trailed off. Tory put an arm around her friend.

"Em, are you okay?" She asked.

"I hold in my hand… the last words the love of my life will ever say to me. I'm gonna hit play." She stated, but she hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Santana asked.

"What if it's worse than Karate Kid 2?" She cried. "I can't do this. I c… look, Carole is about to collapse. I…"

"No, let me." Josh said, before walking away to help her, leaving just Tory, Santana and Brittany with Emily.

"You know, you should listen to it." Tory said. "Just don't put too much pressure on it."

"She's right." Brittany agreed. "I mean, this idea that someone's last words have to be profound and meaningful… I mean, you can live up to that?"

"Exactly." Santana said. "All those famous last words people supposedly said… they're all made up. Like that patriotic dude we learnt about in History… Nathan Hale. His last words were supposedly 'my old regret is that I have but one life to lose for my country.' You know what his real last words probably were? 'I'M PEEING MY PANTS!' True story."

"The point is, last words are overrated." Tory said, bringing the point back to relevance.

"Look, think of it this way." Santana said. "You get to hear Finn's voice one last time."

Emily nodded.

"I should go listen to this… alone. I'll be right back." She said before walking away. 5 minutes later, she came back.

"So…" Tory asked.

"I couldn't listen to it." Emily replied. "Guys, this is hard."

"We know, Emily. But you'll always wonder if you don't. Finn loved you. It almost doesn't matter what he said." Santana said.

"That's true." They all agreed but Brittany shook her head.

"Guys, guys, what if, God forbid, your significant other died this morning? What would their last words to you have been, other than today's events? Seriously."

Tory, Josh, Santana and Brittany thought to themselves. Tory and Josh had been dating for two months and they cared deeply about each other. So did, obviously, Santana and Brittany so it was hard to even think about. However, they all came to the conclusion: they weren't good.

"Exactly." Emily replied, reading their expressions. "Now, can we all just admit that last words are in fact a big deal?"

"Yes." They all replied.

"I'm not gonna listen." She finally decided. "Rent Karate Kid 2 are the last words my boyfriend will ever say to me, and… I think I can live with that."


	59. Chapter 59

" _Rent Karate Kid 2 are the last words my boyfriend will ever say to me, and… I think I can live with that."_

And Emily really did think she could think she could live with that. That was until later, at the funeral service as she listened to Finn's family members' last words. Carole went first.

"My last talk with Finn… was so lovely. It was right after Finn's graduation and he pulled me aside and he said 'thank you for not giving up on me.' He said that he couldn't even begin to thank me for what I've done for him and he wanted to buy the family a place in L.A."

The stories Finn's mother and sisters told were so perfect. Neve was the next to speak. Sniffing through tears, Neve talked about Finn teaching her to skate…

"Then, as I cried, he picked me up off the ice, he gave me a hug and said… Neve, it doesn't matter if you fall down once in a while. God knows I have. What matters is how you get back up. And know that I'll always have your back and I'll always be proud of you."

"And as we hiked, a little deer appeared on the path. She hopped over to Finn and started eating… right out of his hand. He turned to me and said… life is such a gift. Just remember to slow down once in a while and enjoy it."

Emily, who was sitting in the front row of the Church, turned to Emily, Josh and Santana who were sitting right behind. All of them were close to tears.

"Lame." Josh sniffleed, his voice breaking slightly.

"These stories suck." Santana said, a tear running down her cheek.

"Yeah, none of them hold a candle to your Karate Kid thing." Brittany said.

"You're up next, Em." Tory informed her. Emily nodded and stood up.

"I just need some air, she murmured and she stepped out of the cathedral. Josh, Santana, Brittany and Tory followed her out.

"Em, are you okay?" Tory asked. Emily took out the phone that was stashed in her clutch.

"I have to listen to it." She said and then put the phone to her ear…

She listened for a few seconds before putting it down.

"It's a pocket dial." She murmured. "It's nothing."

Emily walked over to a bench outside the church and sat down, putting her head in her hands. The group followed her.

"Okay, so it's a pocket dial. You know, you have so many great memories with Finn. Who cares about the last one?"

"You don't get it!" Emily cried. "None of you do. Finn was not just my boyfriend. He was my hero. And he was my teacher. And he was my best friend. He always came through for me. And now he's just gone. And what am I left with?"

Emily turned the phone onto speaker so the whole group could hear the static sounds of a pocket dial.

"Thanks a lot, God! Thank you!" Emily started screaming at the sky. "You took my future husband! The greatest man that I have ever known and you ripped him off this earth way too young! But I've got this voicemail. Thank you so much for the voice mail! It's a great comfort! Cause whenever I'm starting to feel lonely… or sad or… or you know what? Maybe a little cheated. At least I got the sound of his pocket to console me!"

"Emily." Tory started gently but was cut off.

"How is this fair?" She sobbed. "You know, like, an entire human life and it just ends for no reason and… and what are we left with?"

Suddenly, the static from the call cut off as the phone was presumably lifted from his pocket.

"Babe?" Finn's voice cut through the open air. Santana, Brittany, Josh and Tory's - who were all looking down at the ground - heads snapped up at the sound of his voice. Emily's eyes widened. Immediately, she noticed that he sounded like he was in pain. Then, Emily checked the time the voicemail was recorded and she almost dropped the phone… The call was recorded minutes after Finn was shot, presumably during the last moments of his life.

"This makes things easier. I guess I've been calling you for a couple of minutes now. I just wanted you to know how amazing of a woman you are. And I don't know if I deserved you but, uh… I hope I made you happy. The year we had together… if I die today, I die a happy man. I love you."

The phone clicked off as the voicemail ended. Tory walked over to Emily and put an arm around her.

"Looks like Finn came through one last time." Tory remarked.

"I love you. Finn's last words to me are I love you." Emily smiled through her tears. They all walked back into the service together and Emily finally got up to speak. Funny thing though…

"And then Finn said the last words that he'll ever say to me: Rent Karate Kid 2. I caught it on Cable last night and it totally holds up."

She decided to keep Finn's real last words just for herself. Her friends were right. At the end of the day, last words weren't that important. Finn had lived such an amazing life that it almost didn't matter what he said at the very end.

As Emily left the church, she walked through the various headstones and suddenly, an extreme wind slammed her backwards, causing her to trip over one of the headstones and fall flat on her back into a pit…

When she fell, she felt the wind knocked out of her. She gasped for breath before realizing the magnitude of the situation she was in. She was in a pit and probably wouldn't be found for the next little while. Suddenly, as if my magic, dirt started to fill the pit, suffocating her. Try as she might, she was helpless against the tsunami of dirt that was trapping and burying her. Once she was fully submerged, she started to fade away. Just before she blacked out, she heard someone calling her name.

"Emily!"

"Emily!"

" _Emily!"_

The last call seemed to be a lot closer but there was something weird about it. It felt like the shouting was from another realty. Suddenly, Emily felt herself yanked roughly out of the grave and she opened her eyes…

When she opened her eyes, she was back in her bedroom, and Finn was sitting on the edge of her bed, gently shaking her leg.

"Morning, babe." Finn exclaimed. "Get up! It's graduation day!"

Emily rubbed her eyes in confusion. Looking at the calendar beside her bed, she realised something… the past two weeks had all been a horrible nightmare. Finn was still alive! Emily flew into his arms and hugged him excruciatingly tightly, tears streaming down her face. Finn's face filled with confusion.

"Um… babe? You okay?"

"You're alive." She murmured. Finn looked even more perplexed now.

"Yeah, of course I'm alive." He replied. "Is everything okay? Did something happen last night?"

Emily shook her head.

"Just a bad nightmare…"


End file.
